Cross-cultural negotiations are now commonplace in business. Recent research has found that culture has powerful effects on negotiation outcomes, particularly when we allow stereotypes to affect our view of the negotiator. New research in Journal of Applied Psychology tells us that what culture you are from affects how your emotions are perceived. Therefore, expressing various emotions may affect negotiation success. In their study, the authors (Adam & Shirako, 2013) compared the negotiating ability of individuals from East Asia to that of Europeans. They found that the negotiator from East Asia elicits more cooperation than a negotiator from Europe. A person from East Asia is often stereotyped as emotionally inexpressive. In contrast, a person from Europe is expected to be more expressive. When East Asians (stereotypically calm and stoic) act aggressively, they are seen as tougher and more threatening than an angry European person. This gives the negotiator from East Asia an advantage.
Culture and Negotiation
On By I-O AT WORK