Determining the impact of communication media on negotiation

By Jovina Ang

SMU Office of Research & Tech Transfer– Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, negotiations, be they for business or legal purposes, have shifted online.

However, despite the wide acceptance of negotiating online, there exists no consistent evidence showing which of the different communication media works better and the circumstances affecting their effectiveness.

“This lack of consensus has rendered it challenging in formulating coherent theories for guiding negotiation practice”, Assistant Professor of Law and Associate Dean Dorcas Quek told the Office of Research & Tech Transfer.

She continued: “Given that tools such as Zoom and WhatsApp have become the commonly used tools for negotiation in today’s work environment, it is important that we understand the impact of these tools on negotiation outcomes. Surprisingly, the research in the last decade has paid more attention to e-mail than to video and audio modes of negotiation even though the use of such tools has increased tremendously since the pandemic.

“It is also highly uncertain whether the earlier research on electronic tools can be readily applied to today’s context as the unprecedented digitalisation wave caused by the pandemic could have drastically changed our communication preferences.”

“Another aspect of negotiation that is missing from the available research pertains to the moderating effect of the negotiator’s characteristics. We do not know for certain which attributes of the negotiator, for example, attributes such as personality, communication style, have a stronger effect on negotiation outcomes”, she added.

Professor Quek went on: “Negotiation is something we all do every day whether to accomplish small things, to resolve conflict or to mediate a major dispute. Because most of the negotiations are conducted online today, it’s imperative that we delve deeper into this important topic.”

To enhance the knowledge on the impact of communication media on negotiation, Professor Quek and her collaborator, Associate Professor Michael Schaerer, who is from the Singapore Management University Lee Kong Chian School of Business, were recently awarded a Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund (AcRF) Tier 2 grant.

The research

Professor Quek and her research collaborator have designed an empirical study to examine the impact of four communication modes, specifically: video-conferencing, audio call, text messaging and face-to-face interaction on achieving negotiation outcomes.

This is the first of the negotiation research to be conducted in Singapore. It breaks new ground in this field of research as most dispute resolution research has heretofore been conducted in the west.

Another unique aspect of the research is the examination of the moderating effect of five specific negotiator traits, namely: conflict resolution style, self- and other-interest orientation, comfort with communication medium, personality type and communication style. This will make the research more generalisable across the different contexts  and cultures in the world.

The research will also examine the outcomes from the negotiations holistically. One outcome pertains to achieving economic outcomes or financial benefits. Additionally, two other outcomes will be examined. Process outcomes will be measured in terms of the negotiators’ satisfaction with the negotiation process. And the procedural justice outcomes will be determined through the negotiators’ perception of fairness.

In summing up her discussion, Professor Quek said, “I can’t wait to get started on the research. I hope that the insights from this research may help inform best practices for negotiation in the legal and business sectors.”

Back to Research@SMU May 2022 Issue