Cross-cultural equivalence and latent mean differences of the Negotiation Style Profile (NSP-12) in Taiwan and US managers

Abstract

Casse's (1981) Negotiation Style Profile (NSP) measures perceiving (intuitive and factual) and processing (normative and analytical) behaviors used during intercultural negotiations. The NSP has been used across cultures in global training and consulting, and in research; however, measurement equivalence/invariance (MI) across national cultures has not been reported for the NSP of any length. An online survey was used to examine the NSP-12 in two cultural samples that represented individual-collectivist and low-high context cultures and two geographic regions. A stratified, random sample of 330 CEO's and managers from publicly traded companies of Taiwan and the United States (US) was selected. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) established levels of MI for each of the four NSP-12 styles across the two cultures: “normative style” (strict MI), “factual style” (partial scalar and partial strict MI), “analytical style” (partial metric and partial scalar MI), and the “intuitive style” (metric MI). Latent mean differences showed US managers used factual and analytic styles more frequently than Taiwan managers, consistent with individualistic and low context cultures. Furthermore, Taiwan managers used normative and intuitive styles more frequently than US managers, consistent with collectivist and high context cultures. Limitations and recommendations are discussed.