Asymmetrical contextual ambiguity, negotiation self‐efficacy, and negotiation performance

Abstract

Purpose

The current studies examine the relationship between negotiation performance and negotiation self‐efficacy of both the focal negotiator and the negotiating counterpart. This paper seeks to further examine the possibility that these relationships are moderated by contextual ambiguity. It proposes that contextual ambiguity is asymmetrical with regard to gender: that a given situation is less ambiguous to the stereotype‐consistent gender and more ambiguous to the other gender.

Design/methodology/approach

Two negotiation cases are constructed. One was a feminine‐stereotyped situation and the other was a masculine‐stereotyped situation. Study participants negotiated one of the two cases. The primary statistical analysis was moderated regression analysis.

Findings

Results show that both focal negotiator self‐efficacy and counterpart self‐efficacy are significant predictors of focal negotiator performance. However, for both men and women, counterpart self‐efficacy had a stronger association with performance in negotiation situations of higher contextual ambiguity (stereotyped to the other gender) than in negotiation situations of lower contextual ambiguity.

Originality/value

In these studies, the paper responds to recent calls to include negotiation counterpart variables in negotiation research. Further, this study extends research regarding gender and negotiation performance by examining two previously unexplored topics: gender‐based asymmetrical contextual ambiguity and the moderation by gender of the relationship between negotiation self‐efficacy and negotiation performance.

Citation

Miles, E.W. and LaSalle, M.M. (2008), "Asymmetrical contextual ambiguity, negotiation self‐efficacy, and negotiation performance", International Journal of Conflict Management, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 36-56. https://doi.org/10.1108/10444060810849173