The Business of Business Negotiation: Intercultural Perspectives

Abstract

Although focused primarily on the goal of transacting business, the intercultural negotiation literature is highly interdisciplinary, drawing not only from business and management, but also from psychology, international relations, law, and linguistics. The common factor connecting this literature is the need to communicate effectively across cultures. To address communication’s role in international negotiation, this chapter offers a model for organizing extant research into four quadrants based on two axes: (a) works that range from culture specific to culture general and (b) works that range from applied to theoretical. The two axes cross to create four quadrants of research with distinct aims and assumptions. The authors offer conceptualizations of communication, culture, and negotiation, and then review the aims, assumptions, and various works representing each quadrant. To develop key issues and questions facing future research, the authors draw from communication and traditional negotiation literature to illustrate gaps in intercultural negotiation knowledge.