ABSTRACT

Purpose; The study aims to examine the impact of a negotiator’s profile (personality, gender, age and experience) on his perception of unethical negotiation tactics.

Design/methodology/approach; A survey has been conducted among 220 middle manager employees and chief executive officers (CEOs) who are directly involved in the negotiation processes and activities for their organizations. A component factor analysis (CFA) was first performed. Then, a multiple regression analysis and ANOVA analysis were conducted to test the study hypotheses.

Findings; The study suggests that negotiators with a high level of ‘openness to experience’ perceive the use of ‘traditional competitive bargaining’ and ‘inappropriate information gathering’ as ethical. However, ‘conscientious’ negotiators perceive the use of ‘misrepresentation of information’ and ‘inappropriate information gathering’ as unethical. In addition, negotiators with a high level of ‘agreeableness’ perceive the use of ‘misrepresentation of information’ as inappropriate. ‘Misrepresentation of information’ was perceived as more inappropriate for women than for men. Finally, older and highly experienced negotiators perceive ‘inappropriate information gathering’ as unethical more than younger and less experienced ones.

Research limitations/implications; The study measures perceptions rather than actual behavior.

Practical implications; The study findings could help firms to identify the more suitable profiles in terms of socio-demographic variables and also personality traits for positions related to negotiation with their stakeholders, especially for those with more long-term orientations.

Social implications; Recognizing the potential of businesses to provide an important contribution to society and the large influence of business ethics in people’s everyday lives, including business managers’, trigger a better grasp of the factors that help alleviate unethical practices and that nurture a business culture embedded in an increasing demand for business ethics worldwide. Negotiators are not the exception. Hence, identifying which personality traits are likely to predispose negotiators to endorse unethical negotiation tactics may help shape training programs suitable to produce favorable inclinations to comply with ethical negotiations’ principles. This seems to be possible, on the face of the recent findings suggesting the likelihood of personality traits changes, following the implementation of some particular actions.

Originality/value; To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the few that examine the impact of the negotiator’s personality traits and his socio-demographic variables on his perception of the appropriateness of negotiation tactics. This study is in line with calls to reconsider the role that personality plays in negotiation processes, ethical/unethical behavior and outcomes, after a long period of skepticism among scholars as to its significant impact.

摘要

目的; 该研究旨在检查谈判者的个人资料（个性、性别、年龄和经验）对其不道德谈判策略的看法的影响。

设计/方法/方法；对 220 名直接参与其组织的谈判过程和活动的中层管理人员和首席执行官 (CEO) 进行了一项调查。首先进行成分因子分析（CFA）。然后，进行多元回归分析和方差分析来检验研究假设。

发现; 该研究表明，具有高度“经验开放性”的谈判者认为使用“传统竞争性谈判”和“不适当的信息收集”是合乎道德的。然而，“尽职尽责”的谈判者认为使用“歪曲信息”和“不适当的信息收集”是不道德的。此外，具有高度“宜人性”的谈判者认为使用“信息虚假陈述”是不恰当的。“信息的虚假陈述”被认为对女性比对男性更不合适。最后，与年轻和经验不足的谈判者相比，年长且经验丰富的谈判者认为“不适当的信息收集”更不道德。

研究限制/影响；该研究衡量的是认知而不是实际行为。

实际影响; 研究结果可以帮助公司在社会人口变量以及与利益相关者谈判相关职位的人格特征方面确定更合适的概况，特别是对于那些具有更长期导向的职位。

社会影响；认识到企业为社会做出重要贡献的潜力，以及商业道德对人们日常生活的巨大影响，包括商业经理的生活，促使更好地掌握有助于减轻不道德行为和培育嵌入在商业环境中的商业文化的因素。全球对商业道德的需求不断增加。谈判者也不例外。因此，确定哪些性格特征可能使谈判者倾向于支持不道德的谈判策略，可能有助于制定适合产生符合道德谈判原则的有利倾向的培训计划。从最近的调查结果来看，这似乎是可能的，这表明在实施某些特定行动后，人格特质的可能性会发生变化。

原创性/价值；据我们所知，这项研究是为数不多的研究谈判者的个性特征和他的社会人口变量对他对谈判策略适当性的看法的影响的研究之一。这项研究符合人们对个性在谈判过程、道德/不道德行为和结果中所扮演的角色的重新思考的呼声，此前学者们对其重大影响持怀疑态度。