IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v117y2013i2p281-296.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ethically Questionable Negotiating: The Interactive Effects of Trust, Competitiveness, and Situation Favorability on Ethical Decision Making

Author

Listed:
  • Filipe Sobral
  • Gazi Islam

Abstract

This study explores the direct and interactive effects of individual differences in interpersonal trust and negotiation style on ethical decision-making processes across commonly faced negotiation situations. Individual differences influence basic ideas about legitimate negotiating behaviors, affect behavioral intentions directly, and interact with the favorability of negotiating situations, resulting in direct, indirect, and interactive effects on ethical decision-making processes. Using a sample of 298 participants in executive education workshops, the study analyzes the relationship between interpersonal trust, competitiveness, moral judgment, and behavioral intentions in different negotiating conditions through a series of structural equation models and regression analyses. Our results suggest that individual difference variables exert a significant influence not only on how managers assess the morality of ethically ambiguous negotiation practices but also directly on their behavioral intentions, and that this effect changed across specific negotiation situations. We discuss these results in terms of their usefulness in explaining ethical decision-making processes in negotiations. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Filipe Sobral & Gazi Islam, 2013. "Ethically Questionable Negotiating: The Interactive Effects of Trust, Competitiveness, and Situation Favorability on Ethical Decision Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 281-296, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:117:y:2013:i:2:p:281-296
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1520-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-012-1520-2
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-012-1520-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gregory Dees, J. & Cramton, Peter C., 1991. "Shrewd Bargaining on the Moral Frontier: Toward a Theory of Morality In Practice," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(2), pages 135-167, April.
    2. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    3. Strudler, Alan, 1995. "On the Ethics of Deception in Negotiation," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(4), pages 805-822, October.
    4. Roth, Alvin E & Murnighan, J Keith, 1982. "The Role of Information in Bargaining: An Experimental Study," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(5), pages 1123-1142, September.
    5. Weber, James, 1992. "Scenarios in Business Ethics Research: Review, Critical Assessment, and Recommendations," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 137-160, April.
    6. Taya Cohen, 2010. "Moral Emotions and Unethical Bargaining: The Differential Effects of Empathy and Perspective Taking in Deterring Deceitful Negotiation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(4), pages 569-579, July.
    7. De Cremer, David & van Dijk, Eric & Pillutla, Madan M., 2010. "Explaining Unfair Offers in Ultimatum Games and their Effects on Trust: An Experimental Approach," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 107-126, January.
    8. Frederick Bird & Joseph Smucker, 2007. "The Social Responsibilities of International Business Firms in Developing Areas," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 1-9, June.
    9. Al-Khatib, Jamal A. & Malshe, Avinash & AbdulKader, Mazen, 2008. "Perception of unethical negotiation tactics: A comparative study of US and Saudi managers," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 78-102, February.
    10. Robertson, Diana C. & Ross, William T., 1995. "Decision-Making Processes on Ethical Issues: The Impact of a Social Contract Perspective," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 213-240, April.
    11. John L Graham, 1983. "Brazilian, Japanese, and American Business Negotiations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 14(1), pages 47-61, March.
    12. Carson, Thomas, 1993. "Second Thoughts About Bluffing," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(4), pages 317-342, October.
    13. Dees, J. Gregory & Cramton, Peter C., 1995. "Deception and Mutual Trust: A Reply to Strudler1," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(4), pages 823-832, October.
    14. Mara Olekalns & Philip Smith, 2009. "Mutually Dependent: Power, Trust, Affect and the Use of Deception in Negotiation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(3), pages 347-365, March.
    15. Zhenzhong Ma, 2010. "The SINS in Business Negotiations: Explore the Cross-Cultural Differences in Business Ethics Between Canada and China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(1), pages 123-135, February.
    16. Bass, Kenneth & Barnett, Tim & Brown, Gene, 1999. "Individual Difference Variables, Ethical Judgments, and Ethical Behavioral Intentions," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 183-205, April.
    17. Gino, Francesca & Schweitzer, Maurice E. & Mead, Nicole L. & Ariely, Dan, 2011. "Unable to resist temptation: How self-control depletion promotes unethical behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 191-203, July.
    18. Walters, Amy E. & Stuhlmacher, Alice F. & Meyer, Lia L., 1998. "Gender and Negotiator Competitiveness: A Meta-analysis," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 1-29, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rasim Serdar Kurdoglu & Nüfer Yasin Ateş, 2022. "Arguing to Defeat: Eristic Argumentation and Irrationality in Resolving Moral Concerns," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(3), pages 519-535, January.
    2. Kristen Bell DeTienne & Carol Frogley Ellertson & Marc-Charles Ingerson & William R. Dudley, 2021. "Moral Development in Business Ethics: An Examination and Critique," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 429-448, May.
    3. Moshe Banai & Abraham Stefanidis & Ana Shetach & Mehmet Özbek, 2014. "Attitudes Toward Ethically Questionable Negotiation Tactics: A Two-Country Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(4), pages 669-685, September.
    4. Sherwood, Charles, 2022. "A lie is a lie: the ethics of lying in business negotiations," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113331, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Denise Fleck & Roger J. Volkema & Sergio Pereira, 2016. "Dancing on the Slippery Slope: The Effects of Appropriate Versus Inappropriate Competitive Tactics on Negotiation Process and Outcome," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 873-899, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nohe, Christoph & Hüffmeier, Joachim & Bürkner, Paul & Mazei, Jens & Sondern, Dominik & Runte, Antonia & Sieber, Franziska & Hertel, Guido, 2022. "Unethical choice in negotiations: A meta-analysis on gender differences and their moderators," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    2. Yu Yang & David De Cremer & Chao Wang, 2017. "How Ethically Would Americans and Chinese Negotiate? The Effect of Intra-cultural Versus Inter-cultural Negotiations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 659-670, October.
    3. Sherwood, Charles, 2022. "A lie is a lie: the ethics of lying in business negotiations," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113331, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Denise Fleck & Roger J. Volkema & Sergio Pereira, 2016. "Dancing on the Slippery Slope: The Effects of Appropriate Versus Inappropriate Competitive Tactics on Negotiation Process and Outcome," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 873-899, September.
    5. Boles, Terry L. & Croson, Rachel T. A. & Murnighan, J. Keith, 2000. "Deception and Retribution in Repeated Ultimatum Bargaining," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 235-259, November.
    6. Koning, Lukas & Steinel, Wolfgang & Beest, Ilja van & Dijk, Eric van, 2011. "Power and deception in ultimatum bargaining," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 35-42, May.
    7. SimanTov-Nachlieli, Ilanit & Har-Vardi, Liron & Moran, Simone, 2020. "When negotiators with honest reputations are less (and more) likely to be deceived," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 68-84.
    8. Paolo Antonetti & Stan Maklan, 2014. "Feelings that Make a Difference: How Guilt and Pride Convince Consumers of the Effectiveness of Sustainable Consumption Choices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 117-134, September.
    9. Her-Sen Doong & Hsiangchu Lai, 2008. "Exploring usage continuance of e-negotiation systems: expectation and disconfirmation approach," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 111-126, March.
    10. Rebecca Guidice & G. Alder & Steven Phelan, 2009. "Competitive Bluffing: An Examination of a Common Practice and its Relationship with Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(4), pages 535-553, July.
    11. Claude Alavoine, 2014. "Unethical Practices in Negotiations. The Confrontation between Internal and External Factors," Working Papers 2014-223, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    12. Kirsten Martin, 2012. "Diminished or Just Different? A Factorial Vignette Study of Privacy as a Social Contract," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(4), pages 519-539, December.
    13. Kurt Wurthmann, 2017. "Implicit Theories and Issue Characteristics as Determinants of Moral Awareness and Intentions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 93-116, April.
    14. Matthew Caulfield, 2021. "Pay Secrecy, Discrimination, and Autonomy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 399-420, June.
    15. Moshe Banai & Abraham Stefanidis & Ana Shetach & Mehmet Özbek, 2014. "Attitudes Toward Ethically Questionable Negotiation Tactics: A Two-Country Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(4), pages 669-685, September.
    16. John Pearce, 2013. "Using Social Identity Theory to Predict Managers’ Emphases on Ethical and Legal Values in Judging Business Issues," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 497-514, February.
    17. Hershfield, Hal E. & Cohen, Taya R. & Thompson, Leigh, 2012. "Short horizons and tempting situations: Lack of continuity to our future selves leads to unethical decision making and behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 117(2), pages 298-310.
    18. Jean-Francois Gajewski & Marco Heimann & Luc Meunier, 2022. "Nudges in SRI: The Power of the Default Option," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(3), pages 547-566, May.
    19. Yongmei Liu & Sixuan Chen & Chris Bell & Justin Tan, 2020. "How Do Power and Status Differ in Predicting Unethical Decisions? A Cross-National Comparison of China and Canada," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(4), pages 745-760, December.
    20. Kasim Khorasanee, 2024. "Spoof, Bluff, Go For It: A Defence of Spoofing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 201-215, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:117:y:2013:i:2:p:281-296. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.