International negotiation support systems

Almost all results for negotiation support systems have been obtained in a United States context, based on the conventions and culture of American group processes. This paper reports on the construction and testing of a prototype group decision support system (GDSS) to support international negotiation. The system was shown to work and to provide gains in both the quality of the interaction and the attitude toward the decision reached. Although the prototype system is narrow in scope focusing on two specific cultures and a single scenario and uses simple and limited technology, the results obtained suggest that computer-based intercultural GDSS can help people in managing the added complexity of multinational negotiation and in interacting effectively with one another. INTRODUCTION Negotiation support systems are a branch of group decision support systems (GDSS) that deal with situations in which people representing different interests, be they departments, compa­ nies, or countries, try to obtain consensus on a particular issue. Extensive research results are now available that demonstrate the effectiveness of group decision support systems. These stud­ ies show, for example (Gray & Nunamaker, 1996), that GDSS can assist groups in reaching higher quality decisions, increase the range of alternatives considered, increase participation, and reduce negative aspects of group work such as groupthink. Most of these results have been obtained in an American context, based on the conventions and culture of American group pro­ cesses. Whether or not these results carry over to negotiations in intercultural settings is an open question. As markets become worldwide, the number of meetings of international groups from differ­ ent cultures increases. The objectives of these meetings include (Gray, Olfman, Park, 1988): • Presentations and Briefings • Strategic Planning • Information Sharing • Crisis Management • Contract or Treaty Negotiation • Cooperative Problem Solving