AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings - Academy of International ...

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than were Chinese negotiators, which we link to concern about face in China. Our findings suggest that
Western thinking about negotiation has much to learn from Eastern negotiation thinking. How do Eastern and
Western perceptions of questionable or unethical (tricky) negotiation tactics differ We address this question by
comparing 161 Chinese and 146 Australian negotiators' ratings of appropriateness of different types of
negotiation tactics. We predict that their different cultural values and cultural differences in the implicit theories
of how negotiation ought to be conducted will be salient in their perceptions of tactics. Rather than thinking
about tricky tactics as a generic group, we explore differences in Chinese and Western negotiators' perspectives
of different types of negotiation tactics. Awareness of The Secret Art of War: The 36 Stratagems means
Chinese negotiators think very differently about some types of tactics compared to Western negotiators who
have no equivalent of the 36 stratagems in their tactic repertoire. We found Chinese negotiators rated tactics
that are related to the 36 stratagems as significantly more appropriate than did Australian negotiators. Also,
Australians were significantly more approving of tactics that use negative emotions than were Chinese
negotiators, which we link to concern about face in China. Our findings suggest that Western thinking about
negotiation has much to learn from Eastern negotiation thinking. (For more information, please contact: Roger
James Volkema, IAG/PUC-Rio, Brazil: volkema@american.edu)
Attitudes towards Questionable Negotiation Tactics in Peru
Abraham Stefanidis, St. John's University
Moshe Banai, City University of New York
Ulf Richter, Pontifica Universidad Catolica del Peru
This research investigates the influence of three theoretically valid independent variables, horizontal and vertical
individualism-collectivism, ethical idealism and trust propensity on employees' attitudes towards ethically
questionable negotiation tactics in Peru. 233 usable responses were collected from participants employed in
various industries in the capital area, Lima. The results empirically corroborated a classification of three groups
of negotiation tactics, namely pretending, deceiving and lying tactics. Peruvian employees who scored high on
vertical individualism tended to score high on the endorsement of pretending, deceiving and lying tactics; those
who scored high on horizontal collectivism tended to score low on the endorsement of the deceiving and lying
tactics; those who scored high on vertical collectivism tended to score high on the endorsement of the deceiving
and lying tactics. Emphasizing the non-US and non-Western European nature of the empirical data collected,
the originality of this research further stems from the development of a comprehensive research framework
about the antecedents of employees' attitudes towards questionable negotiation tactics in Peru, a country
where human resource management studies are limited. (For more information, please contact: Abraham
Stefanidis, St. John's University, USA: stefania@stjohns.edu)
Patience Is a Virtue: An Analysis of Reactive Bargaining Behavior in International Negotiations with or within
Multinational Enterprises
Ursula F. Ott, Loughborough University
Yuko Kimura, University of Leicester
This paper is based on the intercultural negotiation framework of activity-based bargaining types called linearactive
(time-is-money approach), multi-active (negotiation-is-an-art approach) and reactive (building-up-trust
approach) categories of culture. The complexities of international negotiations are analyzed and used in a onesided
incomplete information game to show the uncertainty about the cultural adjustment process and its
impact in international negotiations. The results of the games show the equilibrium concepts and a possibility to
circumvent problems in international business negotiations which are related to different time perceptions and
strategic behavior. We add to the theoretical analysis an empirical test conducted in a Japanese MNE as a
representative for reactive cultures. This helped us to test the strategies, initial offers, processes and the
approach of reactive cultures in an international negotiation setting. The outcome is a surprise, since the
patience and win-win strategy approach are a cognitive program which can be adjusted to, but will overall not
be changed in light of a short-termist or haggling cultural approach. We can conclude that the cultural programs
AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings
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