Date of Award

Spring 2020

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Moore School of Business

First Advisor

Tatiana Kostova

Abstract

This dissertation examines how international experience influences the outcomes of intercultural negotiations. Its main contributions lie in the novel and contextualized conceptualization of international experience and the development of a comprehensive theoretical model that unpacks the effects of international experience in intercultural negotiations. I propose that international experience is a multi-dimensional construct that encompasses four dimensions: breadth, depth, cultural distance, and cultural heterogeneity. I argue that experiences abroad develop and strengthen individuals’ intercultural competence, psychological capital and global identity, which in turn positively influence the outcomes of intercultural negotiations, i.e., they mediate the relationship between international experience and intercultural negotiation outcomes. I contend that it is crucial to differentiate between touristic international experience and international experience acquired through living/working/studying (LWS) abroad. Their effects on intercultural negotiation outcomes, intercultural competence, psychological capital and global identity can be expected to differ. I also posit that cultural distance between the negotiators in the dyad moderates the relationships between the mediators and intercultural negotiation outcomes, such that the positive effects of intercultural competence, psychological capital and global identity on intercultural negotiation outcomes are more pronounced when cultural distance between the two negotiators is larger. The sample of the empirical study to test the theoretical model at the dyad level consists of 301 intercultural negotiation dyads (U.S. versus non-U.S.), with 602 participants from 55 countries. Data was collected through survey questionnaires and a negotiation simulation. Results of the study indicate that breadth, depth, cultural distance and cultural heterogeneity of the intercultural negotiation dyads’ LWS international experience are positively related to their economic joint gains. They are also positively associated with the dyads’ joint subjective value, except for the depth dimension. For the negotiation dyads’ touristic international experience, only breadth is positively correlated with their economic joint gains. Overall, these negotiation dyads’ international experience is positively related to their intercultural competence, psychological capital and global identity, with LWS and touristic international experience having differential impact. In addition, their intercultural competence, psychological capital and global identity are positively related to their joint subjective value. Results of mediation analysis provide evidence that both intercultural competence and psychological capital mediate some of the indirect effects of the intercultural negotiation dyads’ international experience on their joint subjective value. Moreover, moderator analysis shows that the positive effect of intercultural negotiation dyads’ global identity on their joint subjective value is more pronounced when cultural distance between the two negotiators is large than when it is moderate. This dissertation provides theoretical arguments and empirical evidence that it is beneficial to acquire different types of international experience and to manage the characteristics of one’s international experience in terms of breadth, depth, cultural distance and cultural heterogeneity so as to leverage their positive direct and indirect effects on one’s intercultural negotiation outcomes. This underscores the importance of unpacking the effects of international experience in intercultural negotiations. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of this dissertation, limitations of the empirical study and avenues for future research are discussed.

Rights

© 2020, Chei Hwee Chua

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