International Negotiation
A Journal of Theory and Practice
| This issue | Guest
editors |
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| Innovation in the Process of Negotiation | Jan M. Ulijn, Eindhoven University
of Technology Gregory Kersten, Concordia University |
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Abstracts Vol. 9, no. 1 2004
The medium as an innovation in international negotiation: An introduction |
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JAN ULIJN |
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| Group Decision Support Systems and Patterns of Interpersonal Communication to Improve Ethical Negotiation in Dyads | |
| ANNE-FRANÇOISE RUTKOWSKI, ALEA
FAIRCHILD and JOHN B. RIJSMAN Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands (A.Rutkowski-AT-uvt.nl) |
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| This article demonstrates experimentally that in the context of dyadic conflict, patterns of interpersonal communication (PIC), supported by a particular Group Decision Support System (GDSS) technology, affect the quality of decision making. A GDSS technology that supports confrontation of strongly-internalized personal meanings appears less efficient in supporting the resolution of ethical dilemmas than in stimulating interdependent co-construction of shared-meanings between opposing parties. Intersubjectivity and reciprocity are adapted when the conflict is linked to variables of personality and cultural identity. GDSSs are an efficient tool to support intergroup communication and relations. This article discusses the direct implications of our research for the study of intercultural negotiation and conflict resolution. | |
| Business Negotiation Support: Theory and Practice | |
ALDO DE MOOR and HANS WEIGAND |
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| Business negotiation support systems (NSS) are slowly entering the market, although they lack a clear theoretical basis as of yet. Negotiation is a complicated process with many aspects that have only partially been described with the formal rigidity needed to build support systems. Most theories about negotiation are descriptive and not prescriptive, which, among other things, prevents their use as a basis for negotiation support systems. Complicating matters is that a negotiation process consists of several distinct stages, each with its own characteristics. Furthermore, there are many types of negotiations, depending on the domain. This suggests that we should not strive for one general negotiation support system, but for a set of domain-specific tools. To ground the development and application of these tools in different scenarios, we propose an integrated theoretical framework. After presenting an overview of existing negotiation support approaches, we construct a business negotiation support metamodel for NSS analysis. The metamodel is illustrated by analyzing the MeMo project, which concerns contract negotiations in small and medium enterprises in the European construction industry. The MeMo system is one of the first business NSS with an explicit international orientation. | |
| The Ecological Validity of Negotiation Support Systems: Communication and Information as Antecedents of Negotiation Support | |
| RODERICK SWAAB, ASCoR, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (swaab-AT-pscw.uva.nl) TOM POSTMES University of Exeter, UK and PETER NEIJENS ASCoR, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherland |
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| Innovative approaches such as the use of technology in negotiations raise questions of how technology interacts with the manifold contextual factors that play a role in negotiations. In this article, we introduce a theoretical framework that seeks to inform the design of Negotiation Support Systems (NSS) by focusing on two antecedents of negotiation success. On the one hand, we argue that NSS should stimulate a common (cultural) identity among the individual negotiators, a strong predictor of integrative agreements in prior research. On the other hand, NSS should seek to provide information in order to develop shared cognition among negotiators. Negotiators' perceptions of the problem at hand and possible solutions often diverge significantly as a consequence of their different knowledge and motives. In this article, we report some experimental support for this framework. We conclude that shared identity and shared cognition are relatively powerful predictors of outcomes of international negotiations, and that minimal variations in the configuration of an NSS can have strong effects on these results | |
| National Cultural Differences in the Use and Perception of Internet-based NSS: Does High or Low Context Matter? | |
SABINE KOESZEGI, |
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| In this article, we apply an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) to explore whether national culture influences a user's perception and use of internet-based negotiation support systems (NSS). In particular, we are interested in whether different preferences for communication patterns, as we find them for low-context and high-context cultures, influence the use and perception of different NSS support tools. The Web-based system Inspire, which provided data for our analysis has been used by over 2000 entities worldwide in experimental negotiations. Our results show that, based on the need to establish a social context in computer-mediated negotiations, users from high-context cultures exchange significantly more messages and offers during negotiations than users from low-context cultures. Analytical negotiation support is valued significantly higher by users from low-context cultures than by users from high-context cultures as this problem-solving approach is more compatible with their preference for direct and task-oriented communication. | |
| The effect of CMC and FTF on Negotiation Outcomes between R&D and Manufacturing Partners in the Supply Chain: an Anglo/Nordic/Latin comparison | |
| JAN M. ULIJN Department of Organization Science, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, the Netherlands ( J.M.Ulijn-AT-tm.tue.nl) and ANDREAS LINCKE Economics Department, Darmstadt University of Technology, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany (alincke-AT-gmx.de) |
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| The growing significance of global electronic commerce has led to the increased use of computer support during negotiation of deals, which until now has been carried out almost exclusively via face-to-face (FTF) communication or other high-feedback media (e.g., telephone), but not via computer-mediated communication (CMC). To analyze this process and its outcomes, the following research questions were examined in this study: How do CMC and FTF contribute to a win-win strategy in negotiation? How do CMC and FTF affect the participants' ability to empathize with each other? Are the negotiation strategies of Anglo, Nordic, and Latin negotiators affected differently depending on the medium? Is the ability of Anglo, Nordic, and Latin negotiators to empathize with each other affected differently depending on the medium? On the basis of our results, we surmise that CMC does not allow negotiators to employ a cooperative win-win strategy (as recommended by negotiation-strategy training). We see significant differences when we examine the use of personal pronouns and speech acts by the Anglo, Nordic, and Latin culture clusters. When we look at the use of cooperative speech acts, a similar situation occurs: in contrast to Anglos, who behave in a cooperative way, Latins are significantly more non-cooperative and Nordics use many more general speech acts in the CMC setting. | |
| Innovation in Teaching Negotiation: Towards a Relevant Use of Multimedia Tools | |
| ALAIN PEKAR LEMPEREUR Institute for Research and Education on Negotiation in Europe (IRENE), ESSEC Business School, Avenue B. Hirsch BP 105, F - 95 021 Cergy Cédex, France (lempereur-AT-essec.fr) |
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| This article examines four cases of innovation in teaching negotiation, developed mostly in France, that involve the intensive use of multimedia techniques. These tools address some of the shortcomings of current teaching methods discussed in earlier literature. The use of multimedia innovations seems to improve teaching the subject of negotiation by enabling instructors to better bridge the gaps between theory and practice, and simulation and reality. These innovations also facilitate multiple perspectives, which are needed in cross-cultural negotiations. | |
| Television Debates as a Form of Pre-negotiation in Protracted Conflicts: Nightline in South Africa (1985) and Israel (1988) | |
| JOHANNES (JANNIE) M. BOTES Program on Negotiation and Conflict Management, University of Baltimore, 1420 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21201-5579 USA (jbotes-AT-ubalt.edu) |
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| This article provides an analysis of Nightline’s involvement in deep-rooted conflicts in both South Africa and Israel and an examination of whether media debates as a form of ‘track two,’ or unofficial diplomacy, can assist in preparing the ground for a proper ‘track one,’ government-to-government negotiation process. The extent to which the news media, in this case an ABC Television public affairs program, can play a role in the pre-negotiation phase when formal processes of intervention or formal fora of negotiation are absent is the focus of this article. Three levels of data gathering were utilized to analyze Nightline’s week-long programs in South Africa in 1985 and in Israel in 1988. In addition to a content analysis of the ten programs, the participants in these debates, including moderator Ted Koppel, were interviewed, and the public and journalistic response to the Nightline broadcasts in both countries were analyzed. The findings suggest that in the process of facilitating the highly positional debates between the parties, Nightline empowered and legitimized the out-parties’ causes and gave in-parties an opportunity to publicly defend their positions. However, the programs’ main impact was their fulfillment of pre-negotiation roles: creating an atmosphere for negotiation; enabling reciprocal education of the parties about the conflict; and modeling peaceful interaction. | |
© Copyright 1996-2005 Gregory Kersten & The InterNeg Group
