International Multilateral Negotiations and Social Networks
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Negotiations
Multilateral
and
Social
Networks R. BruceMoney'
UNIVERSITYOF SOUTH CAROLINA
Compared to their bilateral counterparts, multilateral negotiations in an international setting present an extremely complex set of negotiation phenomena. This paper proposes a model of negotiations that examines how national culture, organization specific factors, and individual characteristics of the negotiators impact the multilateral negotiation process in a cross-national context. Specifically, social network theory and "One[negotiator]arrivedwitha shopping list thatincludednot onlyhis own items,butthoseof the otherfourparties as well., Devine (1990), describing a multilateralnegotiation
INTRODUCTION
The
abovequote illustratesthe com-
plexities of multilateral negotiation, or bargaining among several parties at the same time. For example, in the United States, forming and managing research and development consortia,
tools are utilized to examine how coalitions form and roles emerge among participants. The model also posits the effect of social network activity on negotiation outcomes. Research propositions are forwarded in hopes of setting an agenda for the research stream implied by the model. Methods for testing the model and implications for academics and managers are also discussed.
such as 14-firm SEMATECHfor the semiconductor industry, or Microelectronics and ComputerTechnology Corporation(MCC)with over 100 member organizations,is a time-consuming, expensive, complicated, and difficult process,often producingmixed results. Merelychoosingthe locationof the consortium'sheadquarterscan involve protracted, difficult negotiations (Browning, Beyer and Shetler, 1995; Gibson andRogers,1994). Inaninternational setting,themultilateralnegotiationprocessbecomesall the
*R. Bruce Money is Assistant Professor in the International Business ProgramArea at the University of South Carolina. His international researchinterests include business-to-business marketingof services, negotiation, and sales force management. The authorthanksPaul M. Olk and Dean G. Pruittfor their assistance. JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES,
29, 4 (FOURTH
QUARTER 1998):
695-710.
695
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INTERNATIONAL MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
more complex and difficult. The process of creating and maintaining the $17 billion internationalspace station,for example, involved agreementsamong governments and space agencies,such as NASA, from14 countries. Eachyear$2 billion of budget and production decisions need to be made among Boeing, the lead contractor, and dozens of subcontractors from aroundthe globe - virtually every major aerospace company in the world has some role. A recently negotiated issue was switching to a non-metric system, which was done over strenuous objections from European interests. One NASA consultant, in describing budget overruns and other challenges of the
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