Jimena Y. Ramirez-Marin

Relational Construal in Negotiation: Propositions and Examples from Latin and Anglo Cultures1

In certain cultures, relationships are the reason for negotiation. In this article, we offer a rationale regarding why relationships have more or less salience across cultures. We present psychological, economic and sociological factors that explain the reasons for negotiating relationally. Propositions are made as to how cultural construal about relationships influences offers, targets and limits, negotiation strategy and, ultimately, economic and relational outcomes. Our major explanatory construct is new: cultural consensus about relationships. This construct is grounded in well developed theory of self construal and new empirical research showing the utility of measures of consensus in explaining cultural differences in behavior. With this theoretical contribution, we join the group of scholars who are advocating that more attention should be paid to negotiators’ subjective evaluations of the social and emotional consequences of negotiation.

Validación del Cuestionario de Conflicto Interpersonal en el Trabajo (CIT) en empleados españoles

Resumen El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo la validación a la población española de un instrumento de medida de conflictos interpersonales en el trabajo (CIT) en sus dos dimensiones (conflicto de tareas vs. conflicto de relaciones). Para ello, realizamos dos tipos de análisis con una muestra de 209 trabajadores provenientes de diferentes organizaciones españolas. El objetivo del primero fue la confirmación de la estructura factorial del cuestionario (AFC) y la demostración de su fiabilidad. El objetivo del segundo fue demostrar la validez predictiva de ambas dimensiones. La versión en español de conflictos interpersonales en el trabajo (CIT) mostró niveles aceptables de consistencia interna. Los resultados mostraron un mejor ajuste del modelo ante la existencia de una estructura bifactorial (conflicto de tareas y conflicto de relaciones) frente a un modelo unifactorial (conflicto interpersonal general) siendo diferente la relación entre ambos tipos de conflictos y las variables consecuentes de bienestar psicológico y clima de apoyo, respectivamente. Estos hallazgos apoyan la validez de constructo y la fiabilidad de la versión en español de conflictos interpersonales en el trabajo (CIT) para evaluar los distintos tipos de conflictos en muestras de habla hispana.

Implications of Honor and Dignity Culture for Negotiations: A Comparative Study of Middle Easterners and Americans

Researchers long have assumed that negotiators give priority to economic outcomes over relational outcomes such as satisfaction with negotiation process and desire for future interactions with the counterpart. However the relational structure of a negotiation may be more or less attended to depending on the importance of relationships within a culture. In this paper, we argue that in negotiations conducted in Middle Eastern culture – which can be considered a culture of honor – relational concerns, processes, and outcomes are more important than in Western cultures. We used a role-playing negotiation exercise with both economic and relational issues at stake to examine the impact of culture and relational context on Middle Eastern and American negotiators’ plans, tactics, insight and economic and subjective outcomes. Results indicate of several relational challenges that Middle Easterners face in negotiations, as compared to Americans, including too much emphasis on face-saving and conflict avoidance when negotiating with familiar others, and too much concern about protection of honor and status leading to misunderstandings, and escalation of emotional conflict when negotiating with unfamiliar others. These relational challenges (concerning face and honor) also had economic consequences by leading Middle Eastern participants to set higher aspirations, be more competitive, exchange information less effectively, and obtain lower joint gains than American dyads. Furthermore we found the economic and social outcomes were not as strongly related for the Middle Eastern negotiators as for the Americans. Unlike the American negotiators, the Middle Eastern negotiators seemed to evaluate their satisfaction with a negotiation only in the light of their subjective experiences such as self-image and quality of relationship built, and their satisfaction was very weakly related to the economic gains of the negotiators.

Negotiating for Better or Worse: Changing Pie Sizes Affect Negotiation Relationships

How do parties in ongoing repeated negotiation relationships react to changing circumstances? We argue that situations that become more beneficial (i.e. offer potentially higher outcomes to both) can affect negotiators´ relationships in two distinct ways. On the one hand, negotiators may see improving circumstances as more to share, which should lead to increased trust. On the other hand, negotiators may see it as more to fight about, which should decrease trust. We argue that social motivation (i.e., negotiators having a prosocial or pro-self motivation) may be a moderator, and explore this research question in a five-week repeated role-play negotiation experiment (N = 208). Contrary to our predictions, trust tended to increase in increasing and in decreasing sequences, maybe because participants did not recognize decreasing sequences as such. Implications for future research are discussed.

Social rewards: the basis for collaboration in honor cultures

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to define social rewards, as acts and expressions which specifically signal respect, courtesy and benevolence to the other party, based on cultural scripts found in honor cultures. Second, to explore whether social rewards mitigate competitive aspirations and foster collaboration in competitive settings, with honor values being a culturally relevant mechanism for this effect. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on two experiments assessing high-honor and low-honor culture participants’ aspirations and behavioral decisions. In study 1, participants described a personal situation where they were praised by close others (social reward) or praised themselves (control condition), before responding to a buyer/seller negotiation scenario. In study 2, participants were either complimented (social reward) or not complimented (control condition), before engaging in live competition with a confederate for monetary outcomes. Findings Both studies indicate that social rewards diminish competitive aspirations and offers among high-honor culture participants, but not among low-honor culture participants. Results of study 1 indicate that endorsement of honor values mediates this effect. In conclusion, social rewards can improve interactions with members of honor cultures. Research limitations/implications These studies advance our understanding of cultural differences in negotiations and provide insight into social rewards as one of the mechanisms necessary to successfully manage intercultural negotiations and collaboration. Future research should address the effect of social rewards on self-worth and empowerment. Originality/value This research is the first to shed light on the relevance and importance of social rewards as a device to facilitate social interactions in honor cultures.

Showcase—Creating Inclusive Organizations: The Case of CIEE, a Nonprofit Study Abroad and Intercultural Exchange Organization

The Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE) is the oldest and largest US nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization. This organization operates in 45 countries around the globe, employing nearly 800 people worldwide.