Eastern and Western Expressions of Dominance
When we think of dominant negotiators, we may picture someone pounding the table or raising his or her voice. Zhaleh Semnani‐Azad and Wendi Adair have identified other ways in which negotiators display dominance and how that may vary across cultures.
Their study expands on prior negotiation research on culture and verbal behavior by examining nonverbal behaviors associated with dominance by male and female Canadian and Chinese negotiators. For their study, these nonverbal behaviors included posture, use of space, and facial display of emotions. The authors found that Canadian male negotiators were more likely to use relaxed postures and express negative emotions and that Chinese male negotiators took up more space.
The study found that the greatest cultural differences were exhibited by male negotiators. Females in both cultures displayed similar dominant nonverbal behaviors. The authors suggest several possible reasons for this result: women who engage in negotiations may engage in more masculine‐dominant behaviors because it is a male‐dominated field or, in this study, women only negotiated with other women so it was easier to display more dominant behavior.
Source: Semnani‐Azad, Z. and W. L. Adair. 2011. The display of “dominant” nonverbal cues in negotiation: The role of culture and gender. International Negotiation 16(3): 451–479.
Getting to Know Chinese Subcultures
Getting off on the right foot is important in any negotiation, but especially so when dealing with people from other cultures. Perhaps that explains the popularity of titles that promise to reveal the secrets of negotiating in one country or another. Roger Volkema reminds us that within a country, such as China, one also finds very different subcultures.
China is at the center of global commerce. Companies of all sizes seek to take advantage of its cheap labor and market their goods to the country’s growing middle class. Doing business there means learning a new style of negotiating, new ways of initiating a negotiation, and being aware of the cultural differences between the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
The author looks at the history of these subcultures and undertakes an analysis of cultural dimensions to determine how individuals from these areas may initiate negotiations. He found people from Hong Kong to be the most likely to initiate negotiation, followed by those in Taiwan, and then those from mainland China. This could change, however, as individuals from the People’s Republic of China may be expected to become more assertive. What is most important, according to the author, is simply being aware of these cultural differences to increase one’s likelihood of successfully initiating or concluding a negotiation.
Source: Volkema, R. 2011. Understanding initiation behavior in Chinese negotiations: An examination of distinctions across three regional subcultures. International Negotiation 16(2): 229–248.
Building Better Relationships to Implement Negotiated Agreements
Shaking hands on deals is one thing. Actually delivering on what is promised can be another.
Two recent studies on implementation behavior conducted by Alexandra Mislin, Rachel Campagna, and William Bottom show how so‐called “cheap talk” and positive affect, when linked to proper contract structure, can enhance implementation. Conducting studies involving two employee‐contracting experiments, researchers found that talk unrelated to the task at hand (considered “cheap talk” according to rational choice theory) builds rapport and trust, ultimately affecting financial returns in negotiated agreements. They also looked at positive affect and found that when it is induced in an employer it had no effect on the subsequent negotiation, but inducing positive affect in employees was found to motivate behavior.
The authors argue that more study is needed on the implementation process. Too often the execution of a business agreement generates dissatisfaction, turning “wins” at the bargaining table into losses away from the table. These studies demonstrate the importance of trust‐building in ensuring cooperative behavior away from the table after a deal has been reached.
Source: Mislin, A., R. L. Campagna, and W. P. Bottom. 2011. After the deal: Talk, trust building and implementation of negotiated agreements. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 115(1): 55–68.
