Cultural Perspective Taking in Cross-Cultural Negotiation
Cultural Perspective Taking in Cross-Cultural Negotiation
Cultural Perspective Taking in Cross-Cultural Negotiation
Sujin Lee
Department of Management Science
Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management
KAIST
Wendi L. Adair
Department of Psychology
University of Waterloo
Seong-Jee Seo
Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management
KAIST
We thank Ethan Burris, Adam Galinsky, and Elizabeth Mannix for their insightful comments
on previous versions of this manuscript and Michele Castaldi and Jenesis Squires for their
valuable assistance with the project. Data collection was partially funded by a grant from the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Please address correspondence
regarding this paper to Sujin Lee (email: [email protected]).
Abstract
This study introduces the construct cultural perspective taking in negotiation, the active
negotiation, and compares the effect of cultural perspective taking (CPT) versus alternative-
North American and East Asian ethnicity in the United States and Canada participated in a
randomly assigned to CPT or PT condition. Results show that negotiators who engaged in
CPT claimed more value than those who engaged in PT. And when both East Asian and North
American negotiators engaged in CPT, East Asian negotiators claimed more value. CPT had
no effect on value creation. This study highlights that learning about the other culture before a
cross-cultural encounter benefits value claiming, but not necessarily value creation.
One of the most important steps in effective negotiation planning is considering the
other party (Fisher et al. 1991). Researchers have defined perspective taking in negotiation as
the active consideration of the other party’s alternatives and interests prior to negotiation, and
shown that it aids negotiators in both claiming and creating value (Galinsky et al. 2008;
Galinsky and Mussweiler 2001; Neale and Bazerman 1983). Prior perspective-taking research
has not examined the cross-cultural negotiation context, which we argue necessitates a distinct
form of perspective taking. In this paper, we introduce and test cultural perspective taking in
negotiation, a form of pre-negotiation planning that involves actively considering the other
Whereas traditional perspective taking involves putting yourself in the other party’s
shoes and considering the other party’s alternatives and interests, cultural perspective taking
involves considering the typical approach to negotiation that a counterpart from another
culture might take. Educating yourself about another culture’s approach to negotiation is
commonly advocated in cross-cultural negotiation training (Acuff 1997; Morrison et al. 1994).
Weiss (1994) proposes that when cross-cultural negotiators understand each other’s
negotiation norms, they can achieve an ideal process of mutual adaptation or synergy. It is
negotiators will be able to correctly interpret and adjust to strategies that may not be culturally
normative for them. Whereas research has demonstrated that negotiators’ repertoires are
culturally-bounded (e.g. Adair et al. 2001, 2009; Gelfand and McCusker 2001), we have not
identified empirical research testing whether considering the other party’s cultural norms prior
Prior research on culture and negotiation has focused on the direct effect of the focal
negotiator’s culture (e.g., values, norms, beliefs) or its interaction with contextual factors (e.g.,
negotiator role, intra- or intercultural dyad) on negotiation processes and outcomes (for a
review, see Brett and Crotty 2006). However, not just the focal negotiator’s culture but also
the different ways that the focal negotiator prepares and considers the other party’s culture is
likely to influence outcomes of cross-cultural negotiation. Nevertheless, the literature has paid
The current study has two aims. First, we test whether cultural perspective taking (CPT)
negotiation. Second, we examine whether the negotiator’s culture and the other party’s CPT or
PT condition moderate the effect of CPT. We build on prior cross-cultural research to predict
that in East Asian-North American negotiations, when both negotiators engage in CPT, the
East Asian negotiator will benefit more than the North American negotiator. Our sample
of perspective taking for the cross-cultural context and illustrating the culturally-bounded
benefits of CPT.
―putting yourself in another’s shoes.‖ Some of the positive effects of perspective taking
include a decrease in the confirmation bias and stereotyping (Galinsky 2002; Galinsky and
Moskowitz 2000). These effects seem to occur because perspective taking creates a mental
Cultural Perspective Taking 5
overlap between oneself and the other party (Davis et al. 1996). Thus, people who engage in
perspective taking see more of themselves in the other party, which decreases prejudice and
stereotyping (Galinsky et al. 2005; Galinsky and Moskowitz 2000). At the same time,
perspective taking can lead to mimicry (Chartrand and Bargh 1999), which can be explained
by perspective takers also including more of the other party in their own self-concept
(Galinsky et al. 2005). Thus it has been proposed that perspective taking can help form social
bonds and facilitate social coordination through this bidirectional self-other overlap (Galinsky
et al. 2005).
(Galinsky et al. 2008; Galinsky and Mussweiler 2001). In U.S. negotiation dyads, this form of
pre-negotiation planning offers negotiators several advantages. Actively considering the other
party’s alternatives helps negotiators avoid the tendency to anchor on the other party’s first
offer (Galinsky and Mussweiler 2001). Negotiators who engage in perspective taking also
benefit by uncovering more hidden agreements, and both claiming and creating more value
than negotiators who do not engage in perspective taking (Galinsky et al. 2008). In addition to
the self-other overlap mechanism, which would explain social coordination effects (i.e.,
process of understanding the other party’s thoughts, situations, or hidden interests, under
competitive contexts it can be used to read the other party’s mind, get the other party’s hidden
information and strategically select strategies that favor oneself. This effect helps explain why
negotiators who engage in perspective taking extract more concessions and claim more value
Cultural Perspective Taking 6
than those who do not (Epley et al. 2006; Galinsky and Mussweiler 2001; Neale and
specific.
special case of cross-cultural negotiations. It has been well documented anecdotally and
empirically that negotiators from different national cultures often have distinct approaches and
strategic repertoires. For example, Japanese negotiators use family metaphors whereas U.S.
negotiators use sports metaphors for intracultural negotiation (Gelfand and McCusker 2001).
Low context negotiators use and reciprocate direct information sharing more whereas high
context negotiators use and reciprocate offers and persuasion more (Adair 2003; Adair et al.
2001). In addition, U.S. schemas for intracultural negotiation are more likely to stress self-
interest whereas Japanese schemas for intracultural negotiation are more likely to emphasize
altruism (Adair et al. 2009). And clashing negotiation repertoires has been shown to generate
challenges for adaptation and adjustment (Adair et al. 2001, 2009). This prior research reveals
that cross-cultural negotiators face a different set of coordination challenges than same-culture
negotiators. Hence, we propose that cross-cultural negotiators can benefit from engaging in a
approach and strategies of negotiators from the other party’s culture. Note this is similar to
forms of preparation advocated by cross-cultural negotiation experts (see Acuff 1997; Adler
1997; Morrison et al. 1994). As noted by Brett (2001, 204), ―If you want to be an effective
value, you are going to have to recognize that culture does matter and be prepared for cultural
differences at the negotiation table‖. While the benefits of learning about the other culture and
putting yourself in the shoes of the person from the other culture have been touted for years,
no research has empirically explored the effects of such strategies on facilitating the
negotiation performance.
similar to the definition of perspective taking (PT) in negotiation: ―the active consideration of
the viewpoint of another person‖ (Galinsky and Mussweiler 2001). Early work on PT
orientation towards an object (Pearce and Stamm 1973). The early negotiation research on PT
likewise asked participants to focus on the other party’s alternatives (Galinsky and
Mussweiler 2001). Other work has asked participants to consider the other party’s interests as
well as their alternatives (Epley et al. 2006; Galinsky et al. 2008). In contrast to these
traditional forms of PT that focus on the issues and interests with respect to the negotiation
task, CPT asks negotiators to consider the negotiation approach and norms of the other party’s
culture group. We propose that in a cross-cultural negotiation, CPT can have a greater impact
more value than those who engage in PT. Negotiators who engage in CPT actively consider
This is similar to selecting a ―How to Negotiate in X‖ book to read on the plane. We argue
Cultural Perspective Taking 8
that such preparation should make negotiators look for signs of stereotypical behaviors from
the other party at the negotiation table. CPT may ironically sharpen the stereotypic difference
cognitive schema for intergroup interaction, which is competitive in nature (Insko et al. 1990).
And if negotiators focus on intergroup differences, they should consider their own gains,
rather than mutually beneficial joint gains (Lee 2005; Thompson 1993). Thus, CPT should
Mussweiler 2001), it has also been shown to decrease stereotype expression and intergroup
bias (Galinsky and Moskowitz 2000; Todd et al. 2011). For example, in a study on interracial
bias, White and Asian participants in a perspective taking condition showed significantly
lower pro-White bias than those in a control condition (Todd et al. 2011). Thus, when PT is
compared with CPT, CPT (which accentuates intergroup stereotypic differences) should be
relatively more effective in distributive value claiming than PT (which decreases such
Unlike distributive value claiming, CPT should not affect integrative value creation
because it focuses on cultural differences, not the other party’s interests, cooperative
orientation and shared interests necessary for joint gains (Sebenius 1992). Negotiators who
engage in CPT will focus more on stereotypic cultural differences than shared interests and
intergroup cooperation.
Cultural Perspective Taking 9
partner condition should moderate this effect in East Asian-North American negotiations.
Cross-cultural negotiators base their adjustment patterns on the level of cultural knowledge
and understanding that each party has about the other culture (Moran et al. 2007; Morrison et
al. 1994; Weiss 1994). Research on negotiation schemas shows that U.S. and Japanese
negotiators do rely on their knowledge of the other’s culture when anticipating how they will
adjust in a cross-cultural negotiation (Adair et al. 2009). Thus, when negotiators take the
perspective of the other party’s culture prior to negotiation, they will improve their ability to
anticipate the other party’s moves and consider what strategies will be most effective. CPT is
likely to reinforce the idea that the other party should behave in his or her own culturally-
normative way, consistent with cultural stereotypes. We propose that this stereotypic
expectation generated by CPT will help or hinder negotiators who engage in CPT strategize
their own behaviors and claim value, depending on the negotiator’s culture and the partner
condition.
Specifically, East Asians who engage in CPT are likely to expect that North American
partners will behave consistent with North American cultural norms, such as self-interest,
direct communication and fact/logic (Adair 2003; Adair et al. 2001). To the extent that cross-
cultural negotiators’ cognitive schemas for intercultural negotiation behavior tend to conform
to the other party’s cultural norms (Adair et al. 2009), East Asian negotiators who engage in
CPT are likely to anticipate and be well prepared for North American partners’ self-interested
distributive behaviors. Indeed, research has shown that in U.S.-Japan intercultural negotiations,
Japanese negotiators scored higher on the schemas of self-interest, direct information sharing
and lower on equality and altruism than U.S. negotiators—although these patterns were
Cultural Perspective Taking 10
reversed in Japan-Japan intracultural settings (Adair et al. 2009). And negotiators whose
counterparty had a reputation for distributive gains were better prepared for the counterparty’s
distributive moves and claimed more value than those whose counterparty did not have such a
reputation (Tinsley and O’Connor 2002). Thus, East Asians who engage in CPT should be
In contrast, North Americans who engage in CPT should expect that East Asian
counterparts will behave consistent with East Asian cultural norms, such as an other-focused
2003; Adair et al. 2001) and will adjust their cognitive schema for intercultural negotiation
accordingly (Adair et al. 2009). Research has demonstrated that in U.S.-Japan intercultural
settings, U.S. negotiators scored lower on the schemas of self-interest, direct information
sharing and higher on equality and altruism than Japanese negotiators—these patterns were
reversed in U.S.-U.S. intracultural settings (Adair et al. 2009). Because East Asians who
competitive moves) are likely to be better prepared for distributive value claiming than North
Americans who engage in CPT (stereotypically anticipating East Asian partners’ relational
cooperative moves), East Asians should claim more value than North Americans when both
American negotiators engage in CPT, the East Asian negotiators will claim more
METHODS
Participants
Participants consisted of 160 undergraduate students of North American and East
Asian ethnicity at two universities in the United States and Canada. North American
participants were from Canada (N = 59) or the U.S. (N = 19). Overall there were 26 male and
52 female North American participants (mean age = 20.22 years, SD = 2.25). East Asian
participants were from Korea (N = 37) and China (N = 45). Overall there were 38 male and 44
female East Asian participants (mean age = 20.44 years, SD = 2.34). Participants were
recruited from a combination of sources including the psychology and business department
participant pools, international student clubs, and the student life center. All participants
received course credit or pay for their participation. The East Asian participants reported an
average of 7.71 years spent living in North America. They reported their proficiency with
English as an average 6.06 (SD = 1.10) on a 7-point scale (1= not at all proficient; 7 = very
proficient). Neither North American participants (M = 1.97, SD = .16) nor East Asian
participants (M = 1.95, SD = .22) reported that they knew their negotiating partner in advance,
between-participant design. Only cross-cultural negotiations were part of the research design.
American and East Asian students to each experimental session. When participants arrived at
the laboratory, they were paired with a student of different ethnicity on a first come first serve
Cultural Perspective Taking 12
basis and randomly assigned into either the buyer or seller role and either the CPT or PT
condition.
Participants had 30 minutes to prepare individually for an 8-issue new car buyer-seller
negotiation simulation (Nadler et al. 2008; see Table 1). This simulation is a mixed-motive
case: There are distributive issues (delivery date, price), integrative issues (interest rate,
warranty, number of extras, stereo) and compatible issues (down payment, color). In our
experiment, the purpose of the negotiation (e.g., to generate individual or joint gains or both)
was unspecified. Our manipulation of CPT and PT was embedded in the role instructions.
Participants then met their negotiation partner and after 40 minutes of negotiation, they
party’s culture and negotiation norms, similar to the presentation of different cultures in books
on global negotiation (e.g. Acuff 1997; Morrison et al. 1994). We focused our CPT content on
recent studies that have documented variation in East Asian versus North American
negotiators’ behavioral repertoires and schemas (Adair 2003; Adair et al. 2001, 2009).
Specifically, we provided information about the other culture’s tendency to (1) directly reject
an offer, (2) directly share preferences, (3) bring up power and status, and (4) bring up social
norms and the status quo (see Appendices 1 and 2). Participants read the description of the
other party’s culture-specific negotiation norms and as in traditional perspective taking studies,
were asked to think about how the other party would approach the upcoming negotiation
The Perspective Taking manipulation followed the simple procedure used by Galinsky
and Mussweiler (2001). Specifically, participants were told to think about the other party’s
alternatives in the negotiation (see Appendix 3). Buyer’s alternatives would be to look for
another car and seller’s alternatives would be to wait for another buyer. We chose this brief,
simple manipulation rather than a broader ―consider the other party’s interests and
alternatives) from CPT (focus on the other party’s culture-specific negotiation norms).
National Culture was a dummy variable for East Asian or North American. Korean
and Chinese participants were coded as East Asian, and Canadian and U.S. participants were
coded as North American. We checked for significant differences between the culture groups
measures between the U.S. and Canadian samples or between the Korean and Chinese
samples. Thus, we lump the national samples together to represent North America (U.S. and
Value Claiming was computed as the total points each individual participant obtained
in the negotiation.
Value Creation was computed by adding together the buyer’s and the seller’s value
RESULTS
Hypothesis 1 predicted that negotiators who engaged in CPT would claim more value
than negotiators who engaged in PT. To test this hypothesis, we ran a 2 (culture: North
American, East Asian) x 2 (condition: CPT, PT) ANCOVA on value claimed, controlling for
role (buyer or seller; p = .15) and the dyad’s joint gains (controlling for interdependencies
Cultural Perspective Taking 14
between the parties; p < .001). There was a main effect of condition, F(1, 153) = 4.19, p < .05,
ηp2 = .03. As predicted, negotiators who engaged in CPT claimed significantly more value (M
Hypothesis 1 was supported. There was no effect of culture (p > .50) and no significant
Hypothesis 2 predicted that when both East Asian and North American negotiators
engaged in CPT, East Asian negotiators would claim more value than North American
negotiators. To test this hypothesis, we selected participants in the CPT condition only and ran
a 2 (culture: North American, East Asian) x 2 (partner condition: CPT, PT) ANCOVA on
value claimed. We again controlled for role (p > .20) and the dyad’s joint gains (p < .01).
Neither the main effect of culture (p > .30) nor partner condition (p > .20) was significant.
More central to our hypothesis, we found a significant 2-way interaction, F(1, 34) = 4.73, p
< .04, ηp2 = .12, indicating that indeed the effect of CPT on value claiming depends both on
culture and partner condition. Planned contrasts using two-tailed tests comparing value
claimed by the North American negotiator and the East Asian negotiator who both engaged in
CPT showed that consistent with our expectation, East Asian CPT negotiators claimed more
= 2799.20), t(34) = 2.86, p < .01, d = 1.18 (see Figure 1). Thus, Hypothesis 2 was supported:
When both East Asian and North American negotiators in a dyad engaged in CPT, East Asian
North American negotiators who engaged in CPT claimed more value when their East Asian
partner was in the PT condition (M = 6233.33, SD = 2156.32) than the CPT condition (M =
Cultural Perspective Taking 15
3612.50, SD = 2799.20), t(34) = 2.57, p < .02 (two-tailed), d = 1.05. Thus, East Asian
negotiators’ CPT hurt, but PT helped, North American negotiators who engaged in CPT claim
value. Together, this pattern of results demonstrates that CPT benefits East Asian more than
North American negotiators. We offer further interpretation of the post hoc finding in the
We ran a 2 (North American condition: CPT, PT) x 2 (East Asian condition: CPT, PT)
ANOVA on joint gains. Neither the main effects (ps > .10) nor the interaction (p = .50) was
significant. As we expected, CPT benefited value claiming, but not value creation.
DISCUSSION
This study offers several contributions to the literature on perspective taking and cross-
distinct from traditional perspective taking (e.g., Galinsky and Mussweiler 2001; Pearce and
Stamm 1973) that emphasizes understanding of the other party’s negotiation alternatives.
Second, we show that CPT is more effective than PT in helping cross-cultural negotiators
claim value, but not create value. Third, we show that when both parties in a dyad engage in
CPT, East Asian negotiators benefit more than North American negotiators. Together, the
findings improve our understanding of how learning about other cultures impacts value
empirically for the first time that in a cross-cultural negotiation, CPT does in fact improve
value claiming. Common wisdom says that cross-cultural negotiators should consider the
other party’s cultural norms to make a successful deal. CPT offers a clear and systematic
Cultural Perspective Taking 16
advocated and practiced by businesspeople, politicians, and peacekeepers around the globe, to
our knowledge our study is the first to show that in a cross-cultural negotiation, CPT does in
fact improve value claiming. By manipulating specific preparation strategies, our findings
characteristics of the negotiator and the context as predictors of processes and outcomes.
The culture and negotiation literature has demonstrated effects of the focal negotiator’s
cultural values (Brett and Okumura 1998), communication styles (Adair et al. 2001), cognition
(Gelfand et al. 2001), and norms (Liu 2011; Tinsley and Pillutla 1998) on negotiation
processes and outcomes. Research has also demonstrated that members of different cultures
have different knowledge structures (Fu et al. 2007) and that even within the same culture,
different contextual factors can predict or inhibit culturally-normative behaviors (Gelfand and
Realo 1999). Finally, research has shown that cross-cultural negotiators are aware that their
counterpart has distinct negotiation norms (Adair et al. 2009). Despite this growing body of
work, how the negotiator’s taking the perspective of the other party’s cultural values and
norms prior to negotiation affects negotiation outcomes has surprisingly been underexplored.
Our data elucidate that taking the perspective of the other party’s culturally-normative
behavior is beneficial for value claiming, but not value creation. Usually, strategies that build
interpersonal capital (e.g., perspective taking) by increasing trust and rapport seem to
engender stronger effects on joint gain than individual gain; however, this effect was not
found in our study. Our explanation is that CPT accentuates intercultural (intergroup)
were able to show that CPT is a distinct form of perspective taking that is appropriate for
cross-cultural encounters. CPT and PT appear to be similar, but they are different concepts.
This study highlights that cultural perspective taking (i.e., considering the other party’s
perspective taking (i.e., considering the other party’s alternatives). Knowing the other party’s
cultural norms and thinking about the other party’s alternatives generate distinct outcomes:
Whereas PT decreases intergroup differences (Galinsky and Moskowitz 2000; Todd et al.
2011), CPT appears to activate cultural stereotypes and accentuate intergroup differences and
Because CPT activates cultural stereotypes, its effects can be linked to the partner’s
anticipated negotiation repertoire. We predicted that North American negotiators who engage
in CPT may expect East Asian partners to behave stereotypically consistent with East Asian
cultural norms of relational concern and cooperation; thus they will be less prepared to claim
value. In contrast, East Asian negotiators who engage in CPT may expect North American
partners to behave stereotypically based on North American cultural norms of self-interest and
competition; thus they will be better prepared for value claiming. As we predicted, East
Asians who engaged in CPT claimed more value than North Americans who engaged in CPT.
On the other hand, we did find that CPT was effective for North Americans when
their East Asian partners engaged in PT. One explanation for this finding is that because East
Asians have high relational concern (Gelfand and McCusker 2001), they might concede more
to the other party to make a deal when they think that the other party has an alternative (so he
or she could walk away). That is, if relationally-oriented East Asian negotiators engage in PT
Cultural Perspective Taking 18
(i.e., pay attention to the other party’s alternative), they are more likely to claim less and
concede more to the other party to avoid relationship breakdown or impasse. These
concessionary behaviors of East Asian partners in the PT condition should be consistent with
the Asian stereotype of relational concern and cooperation. Thus, North American negotiators
who engage in CPT should be well prepared for value claiming in a negotiation with East
In our research the East Asian sample consisted of Koreans and Chinese living in the
U.S. and Canada. Such participants are not just East Asians but they could be considered
biculturals, especially with an average of 7.71 years living in the U.S. or Canada. As a result,
an alternate account for our results is that these individuals could already be better cultural
perspective-takers than North Americans by virtue of their prior life experience both in East
Asia and North America, and thus they might have an advantage in cross-cultural negotiations.
Prior research has shown that biculturals were effective in closing social distance—by using
the ―you‖ pronoun—and thus creating value in intercultural negotiations (Kern et al. in press).
And in a Korean-U.S. negotiation, bicultural Korean negotiators had more positive attitudes
than U.S. negotiators toward their counterpart (Lee 2005). These prior findings bolster our
argument that our CPT manipulation highlighting the other party’s stereotypical negotiation
norms led participants to broaden social distance, rather than close social distance which
should have been the bicultural East Asian negotiators’ natural tendency. Putting the current
study and Kern et al. (in press) together, we suggest that in negotiating with North Americans,
bicultural East Asians could use CPT if their goal is to claim value, but use ―you‖ pronoun to
taking helps negotiators claim value. But across cultures, our negotiators claimed less value in
the PT condition than the CPT condition. Our data suggest that PT focusing only on the other
party’s alternative can hamper value claiming in cross-cultural negotiation, possibly because
negotiators who focus on the other party’s alternative may fear that the other party could walk
away and thus concede to the other party to avoid impasse—especially given that PT
decreases intergroup bias (Galinsky and Moskowitz 2000; Todd et al. 2011). Based on this
reasoning, we expect that a more holistic form of traditional PT, asking negotiators to focus on
the other party’s interests, needs, and priorities as in Galinsky et al. (2008), might generate
the other party. This preparation is undoubtedly very important. However, the assessment and
information gathering about the other party’s preferences and priorities is likely to continue
and become more accurate during the negotiation process. Indeed, it is probably difficult to
come up with accurate assessments of the other party before one actually meets the
counterpart. For this reason, it is possible that the stereotypical information about how people
in another culture tend to behave might prove to be wrong in a particular setting and with a
particular individual from that culture. Thus, future research should use a longitudinal design
to consider how the normative, stereotypic information about another culture might be useful
disruptive.
In this study, we combined Korean and Chinese students as East Asian group, and U.S.
and Canadian students as North American group. Physical proximity of nations may not be a
Cultural Perspective Taking 20
sufficient reason for combining the groups, and indeed Koreans and Chinese have been found
emotional-threat tactics of value claiming more than Korean negotiators, whereas Korean
negotiators endorsed persuasion/offer tactics of value claiming more than Chinese negotiators
(Lee et al. 2010). In our data there were no differences between the Chinese and Koreans on
demographics or any of our dependent measures, but future studies should be cautious in
combining multiple national samples as one group, especially when they examine
found to affect distributive outcomes (Neale and Bazerman 1983), developing an individual-
differences measure of cultural perspective taking is warranted. With a CPT scale, it would be
possible to assess individual differences in terms of how people take the perspective of
another culture and whether there are dispositional differences between the tendency of
cultural perspective taking of Chinese and Korean negotiators, for example. In this regard,
future research would be challenged in differentiating CPT from cultural intelligence. That is,
cultural intelligence (CQ) is a natural ability to adapt to new cultural settings successfully
(Earley and Ang 2003). CPT is the active consideration of the other party’s cultural norms.
Thus, it appears that CPT is an effort to understand another culture whereas CQ is a naturally
given capability. Moreover, CPT could easily be activated in negotiation contexts (as in our
study), but CQ could not. Future research should investigate the similarities and differences
between CPT and CQ with respect to the condition under which each has stronger or weaker
effects on cross-cultural value claiming and value creation and whether each can be
successfully manipulated.
Cultural Perspective Taking 21
We manipulated CPT and PT and examined the differential effect of CPT versus PT
on negotiators’ value claiming, using undergraduates in the laboratory. Thus there are external
validity limitations, especially the generalization of our findings to real world negotiations.
Because people experienced in cross-cultural negotiations are likely to be adept at taking the
perspective of the other party from a different culture, it would be useful to study the CPT vs.
PT’s differential effects using real negotiators. But multiple negotiation studies have
demonstrated that undergraduates and laboratory experiments are still valid for generating
important knowledge about the constructs studied in our research—for example, the effects of
culture (Gelfand and Christakopoulou 1999; Gelfand et al. 2002) and perspective taking
(Epley et al. 2006) on value claiming. To the extent that negotiation skills and experiences of
negotiation setting and experience levels equal for all participants—to see clean effects of
CPT vs. PT. Future studies with managers or real negotiators should replicate or find
boundaries of our results and strengthen practical implications of the current study.
simplified our model, focusing on the effect of CPT versus PT on value claiming. Missing
other party’s culturally stereotypic behaviors may account for the joint effect of CPT-engaged
negotiators’ culture and partner condition. That is, East Asians who engage in CPT may
anticipate North American partners’ self-interested, competitive moves and thus be prepared
for value claiming—perhaps by setting ambitious goals or suggesting an aggressive first offer.
In contrast, North Americans who engage in CPT may anticipate East Asian partners’
Cultural Perspective Taking 22
relational, cooperative moves and thus be less prepared for value claiming. Future research
should extend the present study by disentangling these mechanisms and processes underlying
REFERENCES
Acuff FL (1997) How to negotiate with anyone anywhere around the world. AMACOM, New York
Adair WL (2003) Integrative sequences and negotiation outcome in same- and mixed-culture negotiations. Intl J
Confl Manag 14: 273-296
Adair WL, Okumura T, Brett JM (2001) Negotiation behavior when cultures collide: The U.S. and Japan. J Appl
Psychol 86: 371-385
Adair WL, Taylor MS, Tinsley CH (2009) Starting out on the right foot: Negotiation schemas when cultures
collide, Negotiat Confl Manag Res 2: 138-163
Adler NJ (1997) International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. 3rd edn. South-West College Publishing
Company, Cincinatti
Brett JM (2001) Negotiating Globally. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco
Brett JM, Crotty S (2008) Culture and negotiation. In: Smith PB, Peterson MF, Thomas DC (eds) Handbook of
Cross Cultural Management Research, Sage, CA, pp 269-283
Brett JM, Okumura T (1998) Inter- and Intra-culture negotiation: U.S. and Japanese negotiators. Acad Manag J
41: 495-510
Chartrand TL, Bargh JA (1999) The chameleon effect: The perception-behavior link and social interaction. J Pers
Soc Psychol 76: 893-910
Davis MH, Conklin L, Smith A, Luce C (1996) Effect of perspective taking on the cognitive representation of
persons: A merging of self and other. J Pers Soc Psychol 70:713-726
Earley PC, Ang S (2003) Cultural intelligence: Individual interactions across cultures. Stanford University Press,
California
Epley N, Caruso EM, Bazerman MH (2006) When perspective taking increases taking: Reactive egoism in social
interaction. J Pers Soc Psychol 91: 872-889
Fisher R, Ury W, Patton B (1991) Getting to Yes. Penguin Books, New York
Fu JH, Morris MW, Lee S, Chao M, Chiu C, Hong Y (2007) Epistemic motives and cultural conformity: Need
for closure, culture, and context as determinants of conflict judgments. J Pers Soc Psychol 92: 191-207
Galinsky AD. (2002) The self and the group: The role of perspective-taking in improving out-group evaluations.
In: Neale MA, Mannix EA, Sondak H (eds) Research on Managing Groups and Teams, JAI Press, Greenwich,
pp 5-113
Galinsky AD, Ku G, Wang CS (2005) Perspective-taking and self-other overlap: Fostering social bonds and
facilitating social coordination. Group Process Intergroup Relat 8:109-124
Galinsky AD, Maddux WM, Gilin D, White JB (2008) Why it pays to get inside the head of your opponent: The
differential effects of perspective taking and empathy in negotiations. Psychol Sci 19: 378-384
Galinsky AD, Moskowitz GB (2000) Perspective-taking: Decreasing stereotype expression, stereotype
accessibility, and in-group favoritism. J Pers Soc Psychol 78: 708-724
Galinsky AD, Mussweiler T (2001) First offers as anchors: The role of perspective-taking and negotiator focus. J
Pers Soc Psychol 81: 657-669
Gelfand MJ, Christakopoulou S (1999) Culture and negotiator cognition: Judgment accuracy and negotiation
processes in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 79: 248-269
Gelfand MJ, Higgins M, Hishii LH, Raver JL, Dominguiz A, Murakami R, Yamaguchi S, Toyama M (2002)
Culture and egocentric perceptions of fairness in conflict and negotiation. J Appl Psychol 87: 833-845
Gelfand MJ, McCusker C (2001) Culture, metaphor and negotiation. In: Gannon M, and Newman, K. L. (eds),
Handbook of Cross-Cultural Management, Blackwell Publishers, New York, pp 292-314
Gelfand MJ, Nishii LH, Holcombe KM, Dyer M, Ohbuchi K, Fukuno M (2001) Cultural influences on cognitive
representations of conflict: Interpretations of conflict episodes in the United States and Japan. J Appl Psychol 86:
1059-1074
Gelfand MJ, Realo A (1999) Individualism-collectivism and accountability in intergroup negotiations. J Appl
Psychol 84: 721-736
Insko CA, Schopler J, Hoyle RH, Dardis GJ, Graetz KA (1990) Individual-group discontinuity as a function of
fear and greed. J Pers Soc Psychol 58: 68-79
Kern MC, Lee S, Aytung ZG, Brett JM (In Press) Bridging social distance in inter-cultural negotiation: ―You‖
and the bi-cultural negotiator. Intl J Confl Manag
Lee S (2005) Judgment of ingroups and outgroups in intra-and inter-cultural negotiation: The role of
interdependent self-construal in judgment timing. Group Decis Negot 14: 43-62
Cultural Perspective Taking 24
Lee S, Brett JM, Park JH (2010) The East Asians’ social heterogeneity: Differences in negotiation norms among
China, Japan and Korea. Paper presented at the International Association for Conflict Management Annual
Conference, Boston, MA, USA
Liu M (2011) Cultural differences in goal-directed interaction patterns in negotiation. Negotiat Confl Manag Res
4: 178-199
Moran RT, Harris PR, Moran SV (2007) Managing Cultural Differences: Global Leadership Strategies for the
21st Century. Elesiver, Burlington, MA
Morrison T, Conaway WA, Borden GA (1994) Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands, Adams Media Corp. Holbrook, MA.
Nadler J, Thompson L, Morris M (2008) New car. In: Brett JM (ed) Teaching materials for negotiations and
decision making, Northwestern University, Dispute Resolution Research Center, Evanston, IL
Neale MA, Bazerman MH (1983) The role of perspective taking ability in negotiating under different forms of
arbitration. Ind Labor Relat Rev 36: 378-388
Pearce WB, Stamm KR (1973) Coorientational states and interpersonal communication. In Clarke P (ed) New
models of mass communication research, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA, pp 177-203
Sebenius JK (1992) Negotiation Analysis: A Characterization and Review. Manag Sci 38:18-38
Thompson L (1993) The impact of negotiation on intergroup relations. J Exp Soc Psychol 29: 304–325
Tinsley CH, O’Connor KM, Sullivan BA (2002) Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 88: 621-642
Tinsley CH, Pillutla MM (1998) Negotiating in the United States and Hong Kong. J Intl Biz Studies 29: 711-728
Todd AR, Bodenhausen GV, Richeson JA, Galinsky AD (2011) Perspective Taking Combats Automatic
Expressions of Racial Bias. J Pers Soc Psychol 100: 1027-1042
Weiss SE (1994) Negotiating with "Romans" - Parts 1 & 2‖. Sloan Manag Rev 35: 51-99
Cultural Perspective Taking 25
$10,000 0 -6000
Black 0 0
Red 300 300
Color Light Blue 600 600
Silver 900 900
White 1200 1200
Cultural Perspective Taking 27
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
East Asian CPT North American CPT
27
Cultural Perspective Taking 28
North American negotiators are open and explicit about the acceptance or
rejection of an offer (whereas Asian negotiators won’t reject an offer with a
direct ―no‖ that might offend the other party)
North American negotiators tend to directly state their preferences and
priorities (whereas Asian negotiators tend to reveal their preferences
indirectly by making a lot of offers)
North American negotiators avoid issues of status and power (whereas Asian
negotiators tend to bring up these factors)
North American negotiators rely on facts and logic in decision making
(whereas Asian negotiators rely on social norms or the status quo).1
As you prepare for the negotiation, please try to imagine how your North American
partner will play their role. Imagine what a North American car buyer (seller) is like.
Try to picture the negotiation as if you were that person, looking at the world through
his eyes and walking through the world in his shoes. This will give you insight into
the approach and strategies the other party may use.
1
Proceedings of the Negotiation Roundtable. Special report on the state of international business
negotiation. Issue No. 8, March 20, 2001.
28
Cultural Perspective Taking 29
Asian negotiators won’t reject an offer with a direct ―no‖ that might offend
the other party (whereas North American negotiators are open and explicit
about the acceptance or rejection of an offer).
Asian negotiators tend to reveal their preferences indirectly by making a lot of
offers (whereas North American negotiators tend to directly state their
preferences and priorities).
Asian negotiators tend to bring up issues of status and power (whereas North
American negotiators avoid these issues).
Asian negotiators rely on social norms or the status quo (whereas North
American negotiators rely on facts and logic in decision making).2
As you prepare for the negotiation, please try to imagine how your Asian partner will
play their role. Imagine what an Asian car buyer (seller) is like. Try to picture the
negotiation as if you were that person, looking at the world through his eyes and
walking through the world in his shoes. This will give you insight into the approach
and strategies the other party may use.
2
Proceedings of the Negotiation Roundtable. Special report on the state of international business
negotiation. Issue No. 8, March 20, 2001.
29
Cultural Perspective Taking 30
Appendix 3. Perspective Taking (PT) Manipulation Provided to Both North American and East Asian
Negotiators
Negotiation:
When preparing for negotiation, it is important to think about and focus on the
potential alternatives that the buyer (seller) has to this negotiated agreement. A
clear understanding of the alternatives the buyer (seller) has will assist you in
preparing for the negotiation.
30