Negotiation approaches: direct and indirect effect of national culture

Abstract

The focus of the study is on direct and indirect effects of national culture on negotiation behavior in international business. It argues that negotiation approach is conditioned primarily by relational contextual variables, e.g. relationship commitment and relative power, that national culture exerts direct influence on the preferences for negotiation approaches, and that national culture also has indirect influence in the choice of negotiation approaches while interacting with relational contexts. The hypotheses are tested among samples of American and Chinese joint venture managers in China. The study findings, especially those on the interaction between national culture and relational contextual variables, afford important theoretical and managerial implications.