Cross-Cultural Negotiating: A Japanese-American Case Study from Higher Education

This article discusses a cross-cultural negotiation process between a new Japanese university and an established American university to create a joint business venture - a dual-degree program. The parties failed to sign a contract, and there were indicators during negotiations pointing to the likelihood of a failed outcome. Negotiation style convergence was evident, with the Japanese adopting an erabi ('either-or') style and the Americans an awase ('more-or-less') style. The 7-Step framework used to structure the negotiation discussion may be better suited to analyzing Japanese negotiation processes than American. The implications will be of value to Japanese and American/Western businesspeople or educational administrators involved in joint venture-type negotiations.