International negotiation prototypes: The impact of culture.

Keywords: Negotiation culture, cultural clusters, honor culture, integrative negotiations, distributive negotiations, negotiation strategies, negotiation clusters, latent class analysis

Abstract: Using latent class analysis, we analyze a sample of 2099 observations about the negotiation behaviors in 60 countries and find three negotiation prototypes. One negotiation prototype focuses on personal relationships, implements informal negotiation procedures, expresses affection, and uses a flexible agenda for multitasking management. The other prototype is formal, fact-focused, monochronic, risk-averse, and uses a business rationality of creating more economic value but disregards personal relationships. The third prototype is intermediate between the other two. Culture is a statistically significant predictor of negotiation prototypes, with Anglo-Germanic-North negotiators (dignity culture) predominantly formal, Confucian Asia (face culture) fairly divided between the formal and the other two prototypes, and Latin American and Middle Eastern negotiators (honor culture) mostly personal and emotional. We find Latin-European negotiators (mostly honor culture) more difficult to evaluate, with approximately half of them belonging to the intermediate negotiation cluster and the rest equally divided between formal and personal ones.