ABSTRACT
Bribery is considered by most business people as the key ethical issue in inter cultural business negotiation (ICBN). Ethicality in ICBN is a special case of business ethics. There is little published literature on the topic of behaving fairly, ethically, and honestly in business negotiations. In an intercultural context, ethical issues in negotiation become even more complex and trickier to deal with. Messages exchanged during the bribery process will never be straightforward. Local entrepreneurs in many developing countries cite bribery as the prominent obstacle to business life. The most significant category of unethical behaviour in business negotiations is buying influence on signing the deal, for instance, large-scale bribery in international contracts, especially by corrupting powerful public officials who are in a position to award the deal. Commitment is a serious concern for ICBN ethics, dealing not so much with the process itself but with negotiation outcomes, after the contract has been implemented.
