ABSTRACT
An international negotiation is usually one step in a broader strategy between two entities. Whether these entities are two businesses, two governments, or a business and a government, the underlying goal is the same-reaching the short and long-term goals of both organizations. For this to occur, a trusting relationship must be developed. The negotiations that occur as part of relationship development strongly influence the outcomes of the negotiation. Thus, understanding cultural differences, as well as the role of individual traits in international negotiation, is critical. Accurate communication is critical to our negotiation conversations especially in the international business environment. And persuasion is an integral component of this communication. Messages attempting to persuade another are influenced by both culture and individual style. Understanding the role of traits that impact the choice of persuasive messages should be an important variable in international negotiations. Understanding and interpreting how culture influences behavior, communication, and interpretation of messages, is helpful. Knowledge at the individual level (i.e., communication traits) offers valuable knowledge that cannot be explained by knowledge at the cultural level. More specifically, communication predispositions (i.e., individual level knowledge factors) such as argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness are important to research in order to get a more holistic understanding of the everyday business negotiations that are part of the intercultural experience.
