When in Rome? The Effects of Cultural Adaptation on Intercultural Business Negotiations

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Drawing on social identity and similarity/attraction theories as well as empirical studies in intercultural communication, hypotheses were developed to test the effects of three degrees of adaptive behaviors during intercultural buyer/seller negotiations. Hypotheses covered both the positive and negative effects of adaptation on the adjudged interpersonal attractiveness of the adaptor. These hypotheses were tested in two experimental studies using scenario-based manipulations. The first study looked at American subjects' responses to adaptive behaviors of “Japanese business people”. To test the generalizability of these findings to a less familiar culture, a replication looking at American subjects' responses to adaptive behaviors of “Korean business people” was also conducted. The findings partially support the notion that moderate adaptation may be the optimal strategy in intercultural negotiations. Moderate adaptation was found to improve the adjudged attraction of the “Japanese business people” relative to no adaptation and substantial adaptation. However, this finding was not replicated with “Korean business people”.