Exploring factors that affect negotiators’ problem‐solving orientation

The willingness of negotiating parties to cooperate, communicate, and compromise ‐ prerequisites of the problem‐solving orientation ‐ often lead to successful outcomes. Consequently, problem‐solving oriented strategies are often employed by negotiators in order to achieve mutually acceptable outcomes. The results of a survey conducted among 98 exporters indicate that negotiators’ perceptions of their counterparts’ strategies seem to have the strongest influence on the extent of problem‐solving behaviors observed among negotiators. Prenegotiation experience, inherent conciliatory predisposition, and perceptions of the organization’s flexibility were also found to influence negotiators’ problem‐solving orientation.