Proceedings: Conference on Corporate Communication 2012 Page 1

Nothing Succeeds like Success
An Analysis of Causes of Negotiation Success and Failures in China
Xiaoshu Zhu
Business English Department
University of International Business & Economics, China
zhuxiaoshu@yahoo.com.cn
Dianjun Gao
School of Business Administration
Liaoning Technical University, China
gdigc@163.com
This study aims at identifying Chinese negotiators’ views of the causes of failure in intercultural
negotiations. 86 Chinese negotiators were asked to scale the most frequently causes of failure, and 36 of
them were further interviewed to testify about one case of successful and one case of failed business
negotiation with international counterparts, and to identify the causes of failure. The questionnaire precursors
to business negotiation failure were identified as not equipped with enough information about the
other party; not taking the initiative in negotiations; revealing one’s own bottom line too early; extraneous
factors; no alternative plans or emergency measures, and being impatient. Interestingly, the most frequent
pre-cursors to failure revealed in the interviews were Chinese negotiators’ lack of communication stills,
especially inadequate proficiency in English, lack of cultural awareness and the use of inappropriate
business behavior and protocols, and failure to compromise on price, delivery deadlines or payment terms.
The study concludes that negotiators should focus more than just on the negotiation process, as other
elements contribute to the success of the business negotiations.
Abstracts of <strong>Conference</strong> <strong>Proceedings</strong>: <strong>Conference</strong> on Corporate Communication 2012
Page 43