NEGOTIATION BEHAVIORS & OUTCOMES

Influence of Gender on Negotiation Behaviors & Outcomes

Influence of Gender on Negotiation Behaviors & Outcomes

Introduction

Do men and women negotiate differently? Considering there is an almost universal assumption that men and women are different in more than just the biological sense, it seems that the answer would be a simple 'yes'. However, the question is much more complicated than it first appears. This field of study is filled with contradictory research results, a wide spectrum of theories, and a deeply-felt sense that there are, or at least should be, answers to questions like these. It is commonly believed that in formal (i.e. competitive) negotiations women are poor negotiators because they are more cooperative and emotional than their more aggressive, competitive male counterparts. (Bradstreet, 2006)However, the characteristics that supposedly make women poor negotiators in the formal context are the very skills that are required of a successful collaborative negotiator in the alternate (or “appropriate”) dispute resolution setting. This suggests that due to gender differences, men should do well in formal negotiations, but poorly in collaboration while the opposite should be true for women. While such a distinction seems simple, research on gender and negotiations is inconclusive. Formal negotiation research suggests that gender is not a highly predictive variable and that power is the predominant factor in determining whether an individual will be a strong competitive negotiator. Collaborative negotiation research on the other hand shows gender as a powerful predictor of negotiation behaviours. While the research is clearly contradictory, it may be explained. Research suggests that the benefits of collaborative negotiating are only apparent when both parties are acting collaboratively. This benefit disappears when one party is collaborative and the other is competitive. Therefore it may be that when a woman is in a formal negotiation setting where competitive behaviours are expected, or when the other party is negotiating in a strictly competitive manner, she will adopt the competitive approach because she knows from experience that collaboration will be fruitless in that situation. Therefore, by adopting a competitive “male” approach in formal negotiations the gender differences disappear and other factors such as power become predominant. While this theory may explain the contradictory research results in formal and collaborative negotiations, it is problematic in that it only explains female negotiation behaviour. If this theory is correct, then women are flexible negotiators and can adapt to different circumstances by assuming the prescribed negotiation behaviours for each situation. But male negotiation behaviour remains unexplained. The answer may be that men are simply much more rigid than women and use competitive techniques in all situations regardless of the appropriate behaviour that is required. However, it is unreasonable to conclude that women are just better collaborators than men, and when it is required they are flexible enough to be equally good formal negotiators. Realistically men should also be able to be good collaborative negotiators when the situation requires it, even if it is against their “natural tendencies” (references to gender “tendencies” or “inclinations” refers to gender ...