Shirli Kopelman

The Effect of Culture and Power on Cooperation in Commons Dilemmas: Implications for Global Resource Management

Please cite this article in press as: Kopelma Behavior and Human Decision Processes (20 This study adopted a contextual framework to examine whether an interaction between group culture and economic power influences self-interest in a simulated commons dilemma. Full-time managers enrolled in executive MBA programs in Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, and the United States (US) made decisions in an asymmetric commons dilemma. Relative to managers from the US and Germany, Israeli managers were more likely to follow an individually rational decision-making approach, taking more resources in a high versus low economic power condition. In contrast, managers from Hong Kong in a high economic power condition followed a collectively rational approach, voluntarily taking fewer resources. Egocentrism mediated this interaction effect of group culture and economic power for the Israeli managers who were more egocentric and believed it was fair to harvest more resources in a high power condition. However, egocentrism did not mediate the interaction effect for managers from Hong Kong. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings highlight the importance of studying the proximal effect of group culture on contextual factors, such as economic power asymmetry, that influence cooperation in social dilemmas. 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Folk Wisdom About the Effects of Relationship Conflict

From the time of Tocqueville (1840) to the present, observers of American culture have remarked that despite being highly individualistic, Americans exhibit a penchant for working in groups (e.g., Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, & Tipton, 1996). Coupled with a belief that a strong work ethic is a sufficient condition for success (Furnham, 1990), Americans may be particularly optimistic about the ability for a hard working group to accomplish its task objectives (cf. Earley, 1993). As ample research has shown, however, a number of factors can impede a group’s success. One of the most reliable and well-understood contributors to suboptimal group performance is relationship conflict,

Cooperation in multicultural negotiations: How the cultures of people with low and high power interact.

This study examined whether the cultures of low- and high-power negotiators interact to influence cooperative behavior of low-power negotiators. Managers from 4 different cultural groups (Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, and the United States) negotiated face-to-face in a simulated power-asymmetric commons dilemma. Results supported an interaction effect in which cooperation of people with lower power was influenced by both their culture and the culture of the person with higher power. In particular, in a multicultural setting, low-power managers from Hong Kong, a vertical-collectivist culture emphasizing power differences and group alignment, adjusted their cooperation depending on the culture of the high-power manager with whom they interacted. This study contributes to understanding how culture shapes behavior of people with relatively low power, illustrates how a logic of appropriateness informs cooperation, and highlights the importance of studying multicultural social interactions in the context of negotiations, work teams, and global leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Power of Presence: Strategic Response to Displayed Emotions in Negotiations

This chapter extends research on strategic display of emotions (Kopelman, Rosette, & Thompson, 2006) and investigates how negotiators can optimize both relational and economic outcomes through strategic response to displayed emotions. First, we consider what information can be gained from observing the emotional display of the other party. Next we review what the negotiation literature suggests one should do when faced with a party displaying emotion. We end by depicting a research program that accounts for both the behavioral tactics a negotiator employs and the personal qualities of the negotiator. We suggest that the recommendations in the existing literature overemphasize tactics and underemphasize the person employing those tactics. We argue that the success or failure of a strategic response to displayed emotions pivots on the responding negotiators ability to balance strategic tactics with his or her authentic presence.

Frogs, Ponds, and Culture: Variations in Entry Decisions

Would you rather be the big frog in a small pond or the small frog in a big pond? In three studies, we demonstrate that the entry preference depends on culture. Study 1 found a higher big pond preference for East Asian, versus European American, students. Studies 2A and 2B replicated this big pond preference in behavioral intent across educational and organizational settings for Chinese, as compared to United States, working adults. Study 3 demonstrated cultural variation in frog–pond decisions was not explained by comparison processes that characterize postentry self-regard but rather by concerns for prestige. Together, findings highlight how a cultural lens informs psychological processes that shape entry decision-making.

Developing Evidence-Based Expertise in Emotion Management: Strategically Displaying and Responding to Emotions in Negotiations

Adopting a theoretical model of expertise, this paper integrates the nascent literature on emotion in negotiation with the learning sciences literature to suggest how emotion management expertise can be developed. Emotion management expertise requires a negotiator to develop heightened sensitivities to emotional cues and the ability, not only to accurately identify the relevance of emotional dynamics to the negotiation, but also the ability to strategically display ones own emotions and respond to emotions displayed by others. The paper delineates approaches for developing such expertise in the classroom, and identifies directions for future empirical research on emotions in negotiations.

We Know Who Likes Us, but Not Who Competes Against Us

Research on dyadic meta-accuracy suggests that people can accurately judge how their acquaintances feel toward them. However, existing studies have focused exclusively on positive feelings, such as liking. We present the first research on dyadic meta-accuracy for competition, a common dynamic among work colleagues. Data from the sales staff at a car dealership and students working on project teams suggest that the prevailing model of dyadic meta-accuracy breaks down for judgments of competition. For liking, projecting one’s own feelings promotes dyadic meta-accuracy because colleagues tend to reciprocate each other’s liking. For competition, the tendency to compete against superior performers reduces reciprocity and renders self-projection ineffective. You can accurately estimate how much your colleagues like you, but are unlikely to know how much those same colleagues compete against you.

Mindfully Managing Emotions and Resolving Paradoxes in the Context of Negotiations

Negotiators striving for excellence, whether in business, politics, or family interactions, need to take into account the emotional dynamics they frequently witness and experience as they navigate complex interdependent agreements. This is not always easy as negotiations are challenging social interactions that require strategic analysis of resources being exchanged, sophisticated communication processes between people, and mindful personal engagement…