Cultural differences have been suggested to influence negotiation in several different ways. Each is then discussed in turn.

Definition of Negotiation

The fundamental definition of negotiation, what is negotiable, and what occurs when we negotiate can differ greatly across cultures. For instance, “Americans tend to view negotiating as a competitive process of offers and counteroffers, while the Japanese tend to view the negotiation as an opportunity for information-sharing.”

Negotiation Opportunity

Culture influences the way negotiators perceive an opportunity as distributive versus integrative. Negotiators in North America are predisposed to perceive negotiation as being fundamentally distributive. This is not the case outside North America, however, as there appears to be a great deal of variation across cultures in the extent to which negotiation situations are initially perceived as distributive or integrative. Cross-cultural negotiations are influenced by the extent that negotiators in different cultures have fundamental agreement or disagreement about whether or not the situation is distributive or integrative.

Selection of Negotiators

The criteria used to select who will participate in a negotiation is different across cultures. These criteria can include knowledge of the subject matter being negotiated, seniority, family connections, gender, age, experience, and status. Different cultures weigh these criteria differently, leading to varying expectations about what is appropriate in different types of negotiations. For instance, in China it is important to establish relationship connections early in the negotiation process, and selection of the appropriate negotiators can help with this.

Protocol

Cultures differ in the degree to which protocol, or the formality of the relations between the two negotiating parties, is important. American culture is among the least formal cultures in the world. A familiar communication style is quite common; first names are used, for example, while titles are ignored. Contrast this with other cultures. Many European countries (e.g., France, Germany, England) are very formal, and not using the proper title when addressing someone (e.g., Mr., Dr., Professor, Lord) is considered insulting. The formal calling cards or business cards used in many countries in the Pacific Rim (e.g., China, Japan) are essential for introductions there. Negotiators who forget to bring business cards or who write messages on them are breaching protocol and insulting their counterpart. Even the way that business cards are presented, hands are shaken, and dress codes are observed are subject to interpretation by negotiators and can be the foundation of attributions about a person’s background and personality (items such as business cards are passed with two hands from person to person throughout Asia – using only one hand is considered quite rude).

Communication

Cultures influence how people communicate, both verbally and nonverbally. There are also differences in body language across cultures; a behavior that may be highly insulting in one culture may be completely innocuous in another. To avoid offending the other party in negotiations, the international negotiator needs to observe cultural rules of communication carefully. For example, placing feet on a desk in the United States signals power or relaxation; in Thailand, it is considered very insulting. Clearly, there is a lot of information about how to communicate that an international negotiator must remember in order not to insult, anger, or embarrass the other party during negotiations. Culture-specific books and articles can provide considerable advice to international negotiators about how to communicate in various cultures; seeking such advice is an essential aspect of planning for international negotiations.

Time Sensitivity

Cultures largely determine what time means and how it affects negotiations. In the United States, people tend to respect time by appearing for meetings at an appointed hour, being sensitive to not wasting the time of other people, and generally holding that “faster” is better than “slower” because it symbolizes high productivity. Other cultures have quite different views about time. In more traditional societies, especially in hot climates, the pace is slower than in the United States. This tends to reduce the focus on time, at least in the short term. Arab-speaking Islamic cultures appear to focus more on event-time than clock-time where “in clock-time cultures people schedule events according to the clock; in event-time cultures, events schedule people.” Americans are perceived by other cultures as enslaved by their clocks because they watch time carefully and guard it as a valuable resource. In some cultures, such as China and Latin America, time per se is not important. The focus of negotiations is on the task, regardless of the amount of time it takes. The opportunity for misunderstandings because of different perceptions of time is great during cross-cultural negotiations. Americans may be perceived as always being in a hurry and as flitting from one task to another, while Chinese or Latin American negotiators may appear to Americans to be doing nothing and wasting time.