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ABSTRACT Empirical work systematically comparing variations across a range of countries is scarce. A comprehensive framework having the potential to yield comparable information across countries on 12 negotiating tendencies was proposed more than 20 years ago by Weiss and Stripp; however, the framework was never operationalized or empirically tested. A review of the negotiation and cross cultural research that have accumulated over the last two decades led to refinements in the definition of the dimensions in the framework. We operationalized four dimensions in the Negotiation Orientations Framework and developed the Negotiation Orientations Inventory (NOI) to assess individual orientations on those four dimensions. Data were collected from a sample of 1000 business people and university students with business experience from Finland, Mexico, Turkey, and the United States. Results are presented and further scale development is discussed. Findings establish the utility of the dimensions in the framework in making comparisons between the four countries.
KEY WORDS * cross cultural negotiation * international negotiation * negotiation framework * negotiation orientations * negotiation tendencies
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The effects of cross cultural differences on international negotiation are widely acknowledged. Cohen (1997) notes that cultural factors can complicate, prolong, and frustrate negotiations. While there is substantial empirical evidence that negotiating tendencies differ by culture (see Adair et al., 2001; Graham et al., 1994), much of the information that is available to an expanding corps of international negotiators about negotiating behaviors in countries around the world is descriptive (Elashmawi, 2001; Foster, 1992; Gesteland, 1997; Moran and Stripp, 1991; Morrison et al., 1994; Salacuse, 2003). Negotiators may find themselves relying on very basic lists of dos and don'ts (see CultureGrams, 2005; Morrison et al., 1994), which may or may not contain tips relevant to negotiating. Moreover, the items included in the lists are generally not comparable across countries. Empirical work that systematically compares variations across a range of countries is scarce (Metcalf and Bird, 2004). The conventional wisdom presented in Table 1, summarizes the type of information available to a negotiator for the four countries that are the subject of this study. What the table makes clear is the lack of information on some countries, the stereotypical nature of what is available, and the contradictions that exist...