Looking inside Japanese-Japanese Intracultural Business Negotiation

Abstract

Culture-based negotiation practices and preferences in business continue to attract the interest of academics and practitioners. Observers, however, have collected little data on Japanese–Japanese interactions. Most research on Japan focuses on Japanese interactions with non-Japanese. That over-focus in addition to the relatively low output of the post-bubble era means that current textbooks, popular business books, and even academic articles often draw on sources that are 20-30 years old. Some behaviors are newly identified by the survey adopted in the present study, such as the frequently observed new value creation. Other behaviors such as emotional displays appear contrary to the expectations of the literature. This quantitative and qualitative survey thus identifies current Japanese–Japanese intracultural practices in business negotiation and casts light on the differences among participants in negotiation rather than perceiving monolithic teams. The data stem from 80 Japanese managers surveyed on business negotiation practices. This update of the knowledge on Japan will help academics and non-Japanese practitioners better understand and prepare for business in the country.