Author:
Szejda Fehrenbach Keri,S. Ebesu Hubbard Amy
Abstract
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the neutrality literature and suggests areas ripe for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
– The authors reviewed journal articles on the topic of neutrality in mediation, which included theoretical viewpoints and empirical research on practicing mediators’ understanding of neutrality.
Findings
– The review of literature revealed that party perspectives are largely missing from current neutrality literature. Two potential concepts emerged from the authors' review of literature that could potentially influence parties’ attributions of mediator neutrality: symmetry and transparency. Symmetry refers to the equal treatment of parties, whereas transparency refers to providing an explanation of past or future behavior. Research on whether symmetry and transparency are key influences on party assessment of mediator neutrality could make a significant contribution to the field.
Research limitations/implications
– The authors call on researchers with diverse methodological perspectives to examine, from the party’s perspective, important questions regarding the meaning of neutrality, mediator strategies to successfully enact neutrality and the impact of neutrality on mediation outcomes.
Originality/value
– Neutrality is arguably one of the most important concepts to the mediation field. Despite its significance to the field, only limited research has been conducted to better understand how neutrality is enacted in practice. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature and provides a launching point for future research.
Subject
Management of Technology and Innovation,Strategy and Management,Communication
Reference39 articles.
1. American Arbitration Association, American Bar Association and Association for Conflict Resolution
(2005), “Model standards of conduct for mediators”, available at: www.acrnet.org (accessed 15 September 2012).
2. Astor, H.
(2007), “Mediator neutrality: making sense of theory and practice”, Social and Legal Studies, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 221-239.
3. Berger, C.R.
(1977), “Message production under uncertainty”, in
Philipsen,
,
G.
,
Albrecht,
and
T.L.
(Eds), Developing Communication Theories, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, pp. 29-56.
4. Berger, C.R.
and
Calabrese, R.J.
(1975), “Some explorations in initial interactions and beyond: toward a developmental theory of interpersonal communication”, Human Communication Research, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 99-112.
5. Bernard, S.E.
,
Folger, J.P.
,
Weingarten, H.R.
and
Zumeta, Z.R.
(1984), “The neutral mediator: value dilemmas in divorce mediation”, Mediation Quarterly, Vol. 4, pp. 61-74.
Cited by
5 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献