ABSTRACT This research focuses on negotiation behavior in different cultures. People in some cultures, more than other cultures, emphasize group interests more than individual interests. This has implications for the way people resolve disputes and negotiate, especially between and within groups and organizations. This research studies negotiation and mediation behavior in the USA and Netherlands, where past work shows that the individual is more important, and India and Hong Kong, where the group is more important. Procedures that identify subjects who emphasize groups interests above individual interests will be used in each of these sites in equivalent negotiation and mediation experiments. These experiments will test hypotheses derived from negotiation and mediation theory. Among the issues to be examined are the effects of negotiating between versus within groups, group representation, and the effects of attributes of constituents on negotiation by the group representatives. In the experiments, subjects will interact in simulated negotiation and mediation sessions. A record of their interaction will be coded. Outcome measures include negotiation and mediation tactics, negotiator offers, concession rare, mediator recommendations, and the quality of the negotiated agreements. The results of this research are important for understanding how negotiators and mediators function in different cultures. We will also learn how people in negotiations across settings (e.g., business, environmental, political) can be trained to improve their negotiation effectiveness.
