A cultural perspective on negotiation: Progress, pitfalls, and prospects

In this article, we review the last 20 years of research on culture and neg otiation, and discuss progress that has been made, pitfalls which exist, an d prospects for future research. Our review discerned that much research te nds to examine the following implicit models: (1) the influence of culture on negotiation tactics and outcomes, and/or (2) the interaction of culture and other proximal situational conditions on negotiation outcomes. This res earch has been conducted in a wide variety of cultures, and has illuminated a number of interesting patterns. However, we describe three pitfalls char acterising much of this literature, which have limited our progress. First, most research uses geographical location as a surrogate for culture, and c onsequently, it is often not possible to specify the aspects of culture whi ch account for observed differences. Second, most research ignores the psyc hological processes (e.g. motives, cognitions) that are involved in negotia tions in different cultures, and consequently, we know very little about th e psychology of negotiation in different cultures. As such, there is a "bla ck box" that remains generally unopened in culture and negotiation research . Lastly, research has examined only a limited number of proximal situation al conditions in negotiations across cultures, and thus our understanding o f the moderating effects of culture on negotiation is limited. Based on the se concerns, we advance a third model of culture and negotiation, describe recent support for some of its relations, and delineate prospects for futur e research.