ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses how individual negotiator characteristics influence inter cultural business negotiation (ICBN). It discusses the role of gender, age, and race in ICBN. The chapter also discusses how the professional background of negotiators influences their ICBN behaviour followed by an examination of the impact of organizational culture on ICBN. It examines judgement biases which may affect individual negotiators in ICBN, including cultural hostility. A first direction for improving one's performance in negotiation is to adopt a negotiation style which fits with one's personality. A second direction is to choose negotiation situations that correspond to one's own personality traits. Negotiation styles are impacted by professional culture. Credibility is perceived by the other side according to cultural codes. Cultural hostility is not straightforwardly affirmed; rather it is mixed in information exchange, persuasion, and communication. Culture is part of a person's heritage and identity. There is a strong affective dimension, when a person's cultural values are threatened.
