What Is Negotiation? 5 Key Styles and How They Vary Across Cultures

Have you ever noticed that you are negotiating every day, whether you realise it or not, from picking up your favourite food to convincing your parents for something, it stays there like an invisible thread. It’s not just about business deals and persuasion. So, let’s be honest, no one gets through life without negotiation.

What is Negotiation? 

Negotiation refers to the agreement between two or more parties who have different needs and wants. There are 5 types of negotiation styles that we use. A Negotiation style is used during a negotiation situation. It is a pattern of communication in which we desire to achieve an outcome. Different approaches to these styles are as follows 

1. Accommodating 

This style is also known as ‘I Lose, You Win’. By using this type of negotiation style, individuals try to maintain the relationship between themselves as well as the other party.  The focus of the individual is to build a trustworthy relationship with the other party. This brings peace between both parties and reduces the conflicts (Lares, 2018). For instance, A  student helping his classmate even though he is already exhausted. 

2. Avoiding 

This style is also known as ‘I Lose, You Lose’. By using this type of negotiation style, the person tries to avoid discussion with the other party because it helps them to avoid any conflict with them as well. But this style damages their relationship with the other party. The main reason to avoid the conflict is that it comes as passive-aggressive (Lares, 2018). To understand it better, here is an example: The Teacher does not solve the issue between 2 students, thinking it will be resolved on their own. 

3. Compromising 

This style is also known as ‘I Lose/Win Some-You Lose/Win Some’. This style allows both parties to come to a halfway, i.e. middle ground situation. People who use this type of style value their relationship with the other party, and most of the time, the other is their trusted partner (Lares, 2018; S.U. Scotwork UK Ltd, n.d.). E.g., an employee negotiating with the manager for the salary, but both agree on a middle.

4. Competing 

This style is also known as ‘Win-Lose’. In this style, both parties are goal-oriented; they both try their hardest to win the conflict, and because of this, the conflicts mostly remain unresolved. So, it is important to know that this style should be used wisely; only then can it help in concluding easily and effectively (Lares, 2018; S.U. Scotwork UK Ltd, n.d.). Here is an example of it for clear understanding: both opposition parties’ lawyers put false allegations on each other during the court hearing to win the case.

5. Collaborating 

This style is also known as ‘Win-Win’. This style ensures that both parties meet their wants and needs in any conflict. This helps in building relationships, values. The main goal is to find a mutually beneficial balance between the needs of both parties. People who use this style have high problem-solving abilities. But in this style, sometimes it becomes difficult to meet the needs of both parties (Lares, 2018). Let’s take a closer look at this example. Employees and bosses make a flexible schedule for them, which increases both their productivity and well-being.

Some Theoretical Frameworks 

These theoretical frameworks help us in a more elaborate way to understand how and why people who belong to different cultures approach negotiation differently. Some famous frameworks are listed below-

1. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Theory

This theory was given back in 1980, and this theory basically helps us to understand differences in cultures. This theory also helps us to how people approach negotiation across different cultures. This includes 6 major broad categories (Wale, 2023) – 

• Power Distance Index – This tells us about the unequal powers and how people tolerate them. A high power index tells us that they have high respect for authority, and they show power differences as well. On the other hand, Low Power indicates that these people encourage participation, they try to distribute power and focus on decision-making. 
• Collectivism vs Individualism are basically homogenous groups. In Collectivism, the focus is basically on the collective achievement of the group rather than the individual. The focus is on WE. On the other hand, Individualism prioritises individualistic achievement. The focus is on I. 
• Uncertainty avoidance – This basically has 2 indices, which are High and Low. When this index is high the people make rigid rules because they want to avoid risk. They try to avoid or reduce the potential of unknown and unexpected risks. When the index is Low then people accept risks and balance them and try to overcome them.
• Femininity vs Masculinity tells us about the roles of gender and their equality. Masculinity includes wealth and materialistic things, whereas femininity cares about the collective qualification of life than the individual.
• Short term vs long term orientation – People with short term orientation like to keep and honour their traditions, while people who have long term orientation believe that adaptation is circumstantial and important because it leads to long term growth. 
• Restraint vs Indulgence – This refers to how we desire our control or societal impulses. High indulgence means that it allows people to free their gratification, and high restraint means suppressing that gratification and regulating according to the societal norms. 

2. Hall’s High and Low Context 

This was given by Edward T. Hall. According to him, people who have high context mostly believe in having non-verbal communication, which often includes small gestures. These people believe in the relationship social bond or interpersonal relationship. These people mostly belong to Asian and African countries of the world. On the other hand, low context mostly focuses on the individual achievement, and they believe in verbal communication to understand the message effectively to avoid any kind of misunderstanding (Integrative Negotiation Strategy | EBSCO, n.d.).

Differences in Negotiating Styles across Cultures 

This tells us how negotiation style can vary across different cultures in the world. But it is important to know that it doesn’t apply to every circumstance, and an individual’s general pattern will shift as culture and context change. According to LeBaron (2003), research was conducted by American Psychologist Dr. Nancy Adler, in which she compared key indicators of success as reported by negotiators from different national backgrounds. She found out that people from the US culture believe in independence. They are self-reliant, try to focus on themselves and are goal-oriented. They are low-context people, which means that they like to have direct verbal communication to avoid any kind of miscommunication. 

Whereas people from Japanese culture often have high context, which means that they are more likely to have nonverbal communication. The people follow a collectivistic approach and believe in harmony and peace in their interpersonal relationships. They are polite and believe in having long-term relationships. People from Indian culture neither come in a high nor in a low context, they are in a medium context culture. These people first try to build a personal rapport with others and then begin. People from this culture like to bargain a lot and are flexible with time. 

People from Chinese culture come from a high context culture means that they believe in having nonverbal communication or small gestures. These people like to win respect and confidence. They are highly determined and believe in judgment and intelligence. People from African cultures believe in having a collectivistic approach and respecting the role of their elders. These people have prescribed roles that they have to follow in society. People from European culture are most likely to give threats and warnings to achieve their goals, and they tend to have high aggression.

How to Overcome Negotiation Barriers across Cultures? 

To overcome barriers across cultures, it is important to prepare well and avoid poor listening, using simple and clear language that can be understood by both parties during negotiation. According to Saphyte (2024), there are some points to remember during the process of negotiation-

1. Build Rapport and Trust 

It is important to build rapport before any kind of negotiation, to show empathy towards the other person and to understand the other party’s needs as well. Understanding their perspective and showing real interest in their success. Building rapport gives a feeling of a secure relationship with the other party. This also teaches us the value of trust. 

2. Handle Objections and Conflicts 

It is important for both parties to remember that they should see the negotiation process as part of their journey and learning something new from it. It gives a deeper understanding of other people’s needs, rather than seeing it as a challenge, one should see it as an opportunity.

3. To achieve win-win outcomes 

It is important to know that both parties should get what they want, to receive a solution that they were both looking for during the negotiation. 

Conclusion 

Negotiation is a complex interplay of communication, culture, Psychology and strategy. Theoretical frameworks, such as Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension theory and Hall’s Culture Context theory, indicate how culture influences the way an individual negotiates. They include factors such as the Power Distance Index, Collectivism vs. Individualism, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, Restraint vs. Indulgence, Short-Term vs. Long-Term Orientation, Femininity vs. Masculinity, and high and Low Context. Therefore, understanding and gaining mastery in the art of the negotiation process helps in having a good relationship with people across cultures & countries. Refining and committing to the journey to forge the relationships that stand the test of time. Successful negotiation helps individuals in avoiding miscommunication, building trust with others and reaching win-win outcomes, but for it, one requires skills like empathy and understanding.