Negotiation Situations Research Articles

Exploring the Dimensions of Culture

The purpose of this study is to explore how the dimensions of Mexican culture affect negotiation in Mexico, including the relationship between negotiation and public relations and the implications on the practice of public relations in Mexico. A major finding is that Mexican negotiators are competitive in negotiation situations despite the collective nature of Mexican society. Therefore, public relations practitioners should consider all of the dimensions of culture when negotiating in Mexico.

OMEGA FILMS LTD: A CASE STUDY IN NEGOTIATION

Omega Films Ltd. is a case study in negotiation theoretically based on Berne's Transactional Analysis which provides an objective analysis of a failure in a business negotiation situation from real life. It draws attention to the significance of interpersonal, emotional and cultural factors in negotiations. The story takes place in Hungary and the participants are three firms, the (Hungarian) Omega Films Ltd., the Holm PR‐Agency, which is owned by an Austrian citizen and Bau Ltd., an important subsidiary of an Austrian concern in Hungary. The case study can be used in courses relating to either business negotiations or inter‐personal relations and it works well with both MA and MBA students.

Direct and Representative Negotiation: A Principal-Agent Authority Continuum

Principal-agent research often describes a dichotomous choice between direct and representative negotiation. The result is a list of independent context specific contingencies that provide principals with little guidance when considering whether it is appropriate to appoint a negotiation agent. A normative decision framework is developed to synthesize the current empirical and theoretical understandings of how best to manage an agent?s participation in negotiations. The framework outlines seven conditions intended to determine whether a negotiation context warrants the appointment of an agent. Each question is discussed using both empirical and theoretical rationale. The framework also proposes a continuum of negotiation authority possibly transferred to an agent from a principal for an optimal settlement. The authority continuum is bounded by completely direct and completely representative negotiation situations. Theoretical and practical implications of the framework are discussed.

Introduction: Theory and Application of Electronic Market Design

Markets play a central role in the economy, facilitating the exchange of information, goods, services, and payments. Recent years have seen an enormous increase in the role of information technology in markets, in particular the emergence of electronic marketplaces. Different matching mechanisms are appropriate in different situations and there is not a single solution that caters for all the various negotiation situations. Therefore, economists, game theorists, and computer scientists have started to take a direct role by designing various kinds of negotiation mechanisms for computer products, travel, insurance, and utilities such as power and gas. What is so special about “electronic” market design is the fact that a designer has many more possibilities to design a negotiation mechanism than one would have for physical markets. The design of electronic markets involves a number of disciplines including game theory, mechanism design theory, simulation and laboratory experimentation. The focus of this special issue is to provide an overview of several new approaches in the field, and we are pleased to bring you an exciting selection of high standing papers. This article is intended to provide a brief introduction to this new and dynamic field.

The New Federalism in Mexico and Foreign Economic Policy: An Alternative Two-Level Game Analysis of the Metalclad Case

This article examines, through a two-level game model, the case of the first investment dispute under NAFTA between a private U.S. firm and the Mexican government. It argues that the clue to understanding why the Mexican president could not cooperate with the U.S. president lies in Mexico's domestic “ratification” process. The analysis yields two theoretical propositions. First, federalism represents an important variable in explaining foreign economic policy. Second, two-level game logic should not be applied only to formal international negotiation situations; instead, by specifying the dependent variable as cooperation or noncooperation, these models connecting domestic and international politics can be productively applied to study foreign economic policy.

The New Federalism in Mexico and Foreign Economic Policy: An Alternative Two-Level Game Analysis of the Metalclad Case

AbstractThis article examines, through a two-level game model, the case of the first investment dispute under NAFTA between a private U.S. firm and the Mexican government. It argues that the clue to understanding why the Mexican president could not cooperate with the U.S. president lies in Mexico's domestic “ratification” process. The analysis yields two theoretical propositions. First, federalism represents an important variable in explaining foreign economic policy. Second, two-level game logic should not be applied only to formal international negotiation situations; instead, by specifying the dependent variable as cooperation or noncooperation, these models connecting domestic and international politics can be productively applied to study foreign economic policy.

A negotiation aid for fixed-quantity contracts with stochastic demand and production

Consider an organization whose capability to produce an item and whose customer demand are both stochastic. In such a context “take-or-pay” contracts can be attractive. Under such a contract the organization agrees to purchase from a supplier a fixed quantity per period over a specified number of periods. Simulation is too slow an analysis approach for the typical dynamic negotiation situation. We use a Markovian approach to create a tool that negotiators can use to evaluate the expected cost of a proposed contract, considering the stochastic demand and all relevant cost components. The approach is fast enough to use in real time, and yields accurate (sometimes exact) results.

Avoiding Missed Opportunities in Managerial Life: Analogical Training More Powerful Than Individual Case Training

We examined the ability of Masters of Management students to transfer knowledge gained from case studies to face-to-face negotiation tasks. During a study phase, students either read two cases and gave advice to the protagonist in each case (“Advice” condition) or derived an overall principle by comparing two cases (“Comparison” condition). Management students in the Comparison condition were nearly three times more likely to transfer the principle in an actual, face-to-face bargaining situation than those in the Advice condition. Further, content analysis of students' open-ended responses revealed that the quality of the advice given in the Advice condition did not predict subsequent behavior, whereas the quality of the principles given in the Comparison condition did predict successful transfer to the negotiation situation. Perhaps most striking is the fact that not a single person in the Advice condition drew a parallel between the two cases, even though they were presented on the same page. We conclude that the value of examples is far greater if analogical comparisons among examples are encouraged. We propose that this simple and cost-effective method can substantially improve the benefits of professional training and education.

Kyoto Protocol: Some Norwegian Views on its Implementation

THE NEGOTIATION SITUATION AFTER COP4 IN BUENOS AIRES The Kyoto Protocol was a major achievement in international environmental cooperation. However, we left Kyoto with some unfinished business, first of all on the rules and guidelines for making the flexible mechanisms operational: joint implementation, emissions trading and the clean development mechanism. Many of us felt when leaving Kyoto that it would be possible to make significant progress in developing the necessary rules and guidelines in the year ahead of us before the fourth Conference of the Parties (COP4) to be held in Buenos Aires. We now have to realise that this was too optimistic. In Buenos Aires we only agreed upon a Plan of Action, and even to agree on that we needed an extra night of negotiations after two weeks with very little progress. One may wonder why we are faced with so little progress. There are probably several reasons. First, there are probably some ’invisible brackets’ in the Kyoto Protocol. During the last hours in Kyoto things happened very fast and many decisions were perhaps not fully ’digested’ or accepted by all parties. We are therefore now in the position where some parties want to renegotiate questions that were settled as part of the package in Kyoto. Others do not want any rapid progress at all. In addition, the process after Kyoto has reminded us that cooperation under the convention includes many more elements than making the Kyoto mechanisms operational. In some of these areas – for example, the transfer of technology and compensation for adverse effects of climate change and/or the impact of implementation of response measures – developing countries argue that what has been achieved has not been satisfactory and are pressing for progress. We are therefore in a situation where various issues are linked; where progress in one area is dependent on progress in another area. This is illustrated by the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, which consists of a mixture of convention related and protocol related issues. For many developed countries it is of crucial importance to be certain that the Kyoto mechanisms will be operational and also to know the rules and guidelines before starting the ratification process. Delaying the work on the mechanisms will delay the ratification process and then the entry into force of the protocol, which would be very unfortunate from an environmental as well as an economic point of view. The major challenge ahead of us will therefore be to establish a constructive dialogue with all parties involved. The Umbrella Group (Australia, Canada, Japan, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, the Ukraine and the United States) has made significant efforts in trying to contribute to development of the Kyoto Energy & Environment, Vol. 10, 1999, No. 5 535

What You Bring to the Table: Transference and Countertransference in the Negotiation Process

While there is a large body of work devoted to interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup conflict, little has been written about the dimension of the intrapersonal or intrapsychic conflict in the negotiating process. This article introduces the psychodynamic concepts of transference and countertransference and describes how these phenomena play a role in the negotiation situation. By describing the negative transference and how this gives rise to resistance, the author presents an explanation of what works and why in negotiating. The model is then applied to different current models of negotiation, and considers the implications for the organization of the negotiating team and team leadership. With a knowledge of transference and countertransference, the psychodynamic model may provide another perspective that can be used to understand the negotiation process.

Creative Thinking, a Cognitive Aptitude, and Integrative Joint Gain: A Study of Negotiator Creativity

Creativity in a negotiation situation is described as a unique construct. The use of creative decision-making skills such as fluency, flexibility, and originality are hypothesized to allow negotiators to find tradeoffs and maximize joint gain. The relation between creativity and negotiation success is further complicated by the dyadic nature of the negotiation situation. Results show that although the additive creativity of both members of a negotiating dyad is a significant predictor of integrative joint gain, the higher individual creativity score of the negotiating dyad is an even stronger predictor of joint gain. This indicates that one highly creative individual is sufficient to recognize the potential for integrative joint outcomes. Graduate Management Admission Test scores were also found to be a significant predictor of integrative joint gain. These findings tie the theoretical work on creativity of Torrance and others to the art of negotiation.

Computer-Aided Negotiation for Classroom Instruction: Assessing Neural Network Potential

In an article previously published in this Journal [1], we described a computer system designed to enhance student learning in the area of dispute resolution. Working with this system, based on the concept of Problem Structure Analysis [2], students could literally see how possible settlements were affected as assumptions about negotiation situations were varired. We believe this helps students in their understanding of how decision analysis techniques can be applied in the area of negotiation. In the present article we describe an extension of that system, designed to further enhance student understanding of the potential as well as the limits of technology in negotiation. Students participated in an experiment that demonstrated how certain types of information could be useful in a negotiation situation.

Rational agents, contract curves, and inefficient compromises

Several studies of two-party negotiations have shown that negotiators more often than not reach inefficient compromises. We analyze the circumstances under which rational agents make inefficient compromises and refrain from improving them. We do this by describing and interpreting various negotiation situations and by developing formal constructs and theorems for determining the character of a negotiation situation. Key among these concepts is the notion of opposition. Although opposition is defined in terms of utility functions, it is more fundamental in the sense that it is more intuitive to decision-makers and can be used in contexts in which the parties' utilities are unknown or are partially known. The effects of various rationality assumptions on efficiency and their implications for negotiation support systems are discussed. We argue that the prescriptive/descriptive approach advocated by negotiation analysts lacks sufficient explanatory powers to be effectively used in negotiation support and that negotiation support systems should not constrain the parties to the set of efficient points.

Information management in negotiations: The conditions under which it could be expected that the negotiation partners substitute a competitive definition of the situation for a cooperative one

The purpose of the paper is to investigate under which conditions it can be expected that the negotiation partners substitute a competitive definition of the situation for a cooperative one. A general model for information management in negotiation situations has been developed. Several research propositions focusing on the transformation form a win-lose context to a win-win context are presented. The conditions which the purpose of the paper focus on are summarized in a revised model for information management in negotiation situations.

Dimensions of International Negotiations: Structures, Processes, and Outcomes

Cases of international negotiation are compared in terms of their similarities and dissimilarities. Using both primary and secondary source materials, each case is coded in terms of aspects of the issues, structure, situation, processes, and outcomes of negotiation. One analysis consisted of 23 cases in which Austrian delegations participated. Multidimensional scaling results indicated that a key dimension was the distinction between small bilateral talks and larger multilateral negotiations. Bilateral talks were more likely to be characterized by treaties, low turnover, stage-like processes, and no deadlines. Correlational findings also showed that outside influences had stronger impacts on outcomes than such internal factors as bureaucratic support. A second scaling analysis, based on cases published by the Johns Hopkins' Foreign Policy Institute, produced two dimensions, number and complexity of the issues. The groupings of the cases also corresponded to Ikle's distinctions among types of negotiation. Correlational findings indicated relationships among aspects of the negotiating situation and outcomes. The article concludes with a comparison of the two analyses.

Conflict‐Resolution Training and Middle School Students' Integrative Negotiation Behavior

This study examined the impact of conflict‐resolution training on students' use of distributive and integrative negotiating procedures. In a midwestern, suburban middle school, 176 students (grades 6 through 9) participated in the study. Students were placed in a negotiation situation involving the buying and selling of commodities in which they could adopt a distributive (maximize own outcomes) or an integrative (maximize joint outcomes) negotiation approach. There were no significant differences between males and females or among students in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. The results of this study indicated that conflict‐resolution and peer‐mediation training resulted in the middle school students increasing their use of integrative negotiations and the positiveness of students' attitudes toward conflict.

Negotiating successfully in cross-cultural situations

As the global economy becomes more entrenched and the importance of internationalization becomes self-evident to American businesses, the number of contacts with foreign businesses and their agents will escalate. Whether buying or selling, an integral part of the process often includes cross-cultural negotiations. What determines the success or failure of these negotiations? This study examines those factors and provides recommendations for increasing the likelihood of success in a cross-cultural negotiation situation.

The equitable international allocation of tradable carbon emission permits

The claim that equity considerations can play a significant role in negotiations over the international allocation of tradable permits for carbon emissions is challenged on the grounds that theories of distributive Justice have very little to contribute as regards distributive Justice between sovereign states. In so far as distributive justice principles are to be invoked at all they would imply that some International agency should be allowed to sell or lease some of the total permits to be allocated and to use the revenues for ald to the most needy individuals in society, irrespective of where they live. The remaining permits should be distributed between countries according to criteria that enjoy wide acceptability in negotiation situations involving mutual shares in collective burdens.

R and D for group decision aid in Hungary by WINGDSS, a Microsoft Windows based Group Decision Support System

A flexible and complex Group Decision Support System for PC-s in Microsoft Windows environment is presented. Several real-life applications have been carried out with WINGDSS. The Multi-Attribute Decision Aid type system reflects the logical structure of the problem as well as the preferences and the expertise of decision makers. We assume a heterogeneous group in a soft negotiation situation. Both factual data and subjective factors will be taken into account when qualifying the alternatives. Arrival at a group ranking satisfactory to all members is supported by a series of possibilities to use WINGDSS interactively, and by integrating feedbacks from individuals. The interface to relational databases, the tree handling ‘AROMA’ modul for problem structuring, the dialog box editor, the built-in interpreter for evaluating the alternatives ensure the applicability of WINGDSS in various decision situations. Experiences with real life decision problems are reported.

"They saw a negotiation": Partisanship and involvement.

The incompatibility error is the belief that the other party's interests are completely opposed to one's own in a negotiation situation, when in fact, the other party's interests are completely compatible with one's own. In Experiment 1, partisan and nonpartisan observers viewed a negotiation. Nonpartisan observers were more likely to detect compatible interests than the actual negotiators. In Experiment 2, high involvement worsened judgment accuracy among partisan observers but improved judgment accuracy among nonpartisan observers. Experiment 3 replicated the findings of Experiment 2: Nonpartisan observers made more accurate judgments when they were accountable than when they were not accountable; however, partisan observers made less accurate judgments when they were accountable than when they were not accountable. Partisans who were not accountable expressed the most confidence in their judgments. Partisans tended to judge their party to be more friendly than the other party; nonpartisans were more evenhanded in their judgments. There were no differences in recall of the videotaped interaction