A comparative study of the influence of assertiveness on negotiation outcomes in Canada and China
Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal
ISSN: 1352-7606
Article publication date: 26 October 2010
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of assertiveness in determining negotiation outcomes in two different cultures and thus to help understand the cultural differences in the relationship between assertiveness and negotiation outcomes in the West and East, where assertiveness is often viewed quite differently.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from four simulated negotiations of varying degrees of complexity ranging from the most distributive to the most integrative. Over 400 business students were recruited as subjects from a Western culture and an Eastern culture, namely Canada and China, to participate in the simulations in order to test the cultural differences in the relationship between assertiveness and negotiation outcomes.
Findings
The results provide support for the effects of assertiveness on both economic outcome and affective outcome, and thus confirm the importance of assertiveness as a negotiator trait; the relationship between assertiveness and negotiation outcomes is found to be culture dependent whereby assertiveness is associated with economic outcome and affective outcome for Canadians, but only with affective outcome for the Chinese.
Practical implications
This study provides important guidelines for negotiation practitioners. Relevant training and development programs could be designed for international managers to improve their effectiveness when they negotiate with the Chinese who often place more emphasis on affective outcome and on negotiation process.
Originality/value
Negotiation skills become more important in the increasingly globalized world market and research on negotiation needs to provide more knowledge for scholars and negotiation practitioners. This paper attempts to enrich our understanding of negotiation in two different cultures and to provide insights on cross‐cultural differences in negotiation process.
Keywords
Citation
Ma, Z. and Jaeger, A.M. (2010), "A comparative study of the influence of assertiveness on negotiation outcomes in Canada and China", Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 333-346. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527601011086568
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited