Two of the ways in which negotiators differ across cultures

The two basic types of negotiations in organizations are distributive and integrative. Traditional win-lose, fixed amount situations--where one party's gain is another party's loss--characterize distributive negotiations. They often occur over economic issues. Joint problem solving to achieve solutions by which both parties can gain is called integrative negotiations. The parties identify mutual problems, identify and assess alternatives, openly express preferences, and jointly reach a mutually acceptable solution.


Negotiators across cultures may differ with respect to (1) negotiating attitude with a focus on the win–lose (distributive) strategy versus win–win (integrative) strategy, (2) personal style with a formal versus informal approach, (3) communication style with a direct versus indirect approach, and (4) agreement form with a preference for a set of general versus highly specific provisions or understandings. Global negotiators are likely to be more effective if they possess emotional intelligence, which increases their cross-cultural adaptation ability in the components of self-awareness, self-motivation, social empathy, and social skill.