The Ethical Challenges of Global Business-to-Business Negotiations: An Empirical Investigation of Developing Countries’ Marketing Managers

Abstract

The present study examines the impact of idealism, relativism and Machiavellianism on the perceived appropriateness of five opportunistic negotiation tactics (Le., traditional competitive bargaining, attacking opponent’s network, making false promises, misrepresentation of information, and inappropriate information gathering) using a sample from the United Arab Emirates (DAB). Results indicate that idealism and Machiavellianism are strong predictors of managers’ perceptions of the ethical appropriateness of negotiating tactics. Implications of these results for global firms and marketing executives are discussed and directions for future research are provided.

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Notes on contributors

Jamal Al-Khatib

Jamal AI-Khatib (ph.D., University of Mississippi), Professor of Marketing, College of Business, University of St.Thomas, St. Paul, MN, [email protected].

Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas

Mohammed Y.A. Rawwas (Ph.D., University of Mississippi), Professor of Marketing, College of Business Administration, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, [email protected].

Ziad Swaidan

Ziad Swaidan (Ph.D., University of Mississippi), Assistant Professor of Marketing, School of Business Administration, University of Houston Victoria, Victoria, TX, [email protected].

Richard J. Rexeisen

Richard Rexeisen (Ph.D., University of Minnesota), Professor of Marketing, College of Business, University of St.Thomas, St. Paul, MN, [email protected].