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Social systems devise rules for member conduct and often specify punitive action for nonconformity. However, confronting and signaling the intent to punish a rule violator may be an inherently face‐threatening and volatile situation. As such, in this paper we seek to add to the research aimed at minimizing the negative effects of confrontation. We conducted an experiment to examine the impact of linguistic cues and coercive potential on message categorization and on receiver perceptions of threat and face‐sensitivity. Results suggest that threats might be considered a special class of warnings, distinguishable by a speaker‐based locus of punishment Locus of punishment did not, however, impact perceptions of having been warned. These findings thus call into question the assumed parallelism between researcher conceptualizations of threats and warnings and those of typical language‐users. Additionally, targets reported feeling less threatened and perceived more face‐sensitivity, in cases when the speaker was not the source of punishment. Perceptions of threat were decreased when disclaimers were employed and where the message originated from a peer rather than an authority. Power of speech had an impact in ambiguous situations. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Face threat sensitivity (FTS) has been found to influence objective negotiated outcomes when the threat to face is activated. The purpose of this study is to extend that research by testing whether FTS – which is defined as a propensity to act – is associated with the outcomes of negotiators when the threat has not been specifically activated. Face theory specifies that face threats can cause individuals to take proactive steps to avoid threats before they might occur.

Drawing on face theory and social role theory, the authors conduct a negotiation experiment and use hierarchical regression to test hypotheses concerning the relationship between FTS for sellers and buyers on negotiated outcomes in both distributive and integrative negotiations. The authors also use moderated regression to test if gender moderates the relationship between buyer and seller FTS and negotiation outcomes.

Results show that, when the threat is not activated, high FTS buyers pay more than low FTS buyers. Consistent with face theory and social role theory, this effect is moderated by gender, with the association being stronger for women buyers than for men buyers.

This paper exhibits that FTS can influence negotiator behavior even when FTS is not activated. This is valuable to negotiation scholars and practitioners who are interested in the role that individual characteristics play in negotiation behavior.

Implicitly, the negotiation literature has generally assumed that, if economic gains are sufficient, individuals will negotiate. However, recent research has begun to consider the social costs incurred by negotiating. This paper aims to develop a conceptual model of the role of one of those social costs – threat to face – in the decision of whether to negotiate or not to negotiate.

The approach was to combine relevant literature from face theory and from negotiation to develop and support a model of the role of face in the decision to negotiate or not to negotiate.

A model was developed which proposed that, if people believe that negotiating will result in a loss of face, they are less likely to negotiate in situations that they recognize are potentially negotiable. Six variables are proposed to be antecedents to the belief that negotiating could result in loss of face. These six are divided into categories of social context (social roles and status), individual differences (face threat sensitivity and negotiation self‐efficacy), and knowledge (knowledge of negotiation scripts and knowledge of negotiation content).

The question of why some people do not negotiate when the potential for economic gains would suggest that they should negotiate has received very little attention in the negotiation literature. This model provides one theoretical approach for exploring this phenomenon.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a loss of face on the psychological well-being of frontline employees (FLEs) in an Eastern cultural context (Thailand) when subjected to customer aggression. Importantly, it adopts a contingency approach and examines moderating effects by which social status, a “customer is always right” organisational philosophy and a public/private context impact the nature of the association between customer aggression and loss of face. Finally, it examines the moderating effect of regulation of emotion on the association between loss of face on psychological well-being.

A survey, administered to 319 FLEs in retail stores in Thailand, asked them to recall a recent experience dealing with customer aggression. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling and a moderator regression.

Customer aggression expressions are associated with FLEs’ loss of face, which in turn affects FLEs’ emotional exhaustion and anxiety. FLEs social status and a “customer is always right” organisational philosophy moderate the association between customer aggression and loss of face, and FLEs’ loss of face is greater when their physical well-being is threatened publicly rather than in private. In addition, regulation of emotion was found to increase the negative impact of loss of face on emotional exhaustion.

The way FLEs respond to customer aggression during service encounters, as well as the FLEs’ status and the context, can intensify their loss of face and psychological well-being. This has implications for the extent to which organisations impose a “customer is always right” dictum on FLE, as well as the need for counselling and peer support immediately following customer aggression incidents.

This study is the first to investigate the moderating effects of social status, a “customer is always right” philosophy and public/private context on the expression of customer aggression and FLEs’ accompanying loss of face. In other words, rather than simply examining what causes face loss, the authors shift the focus from the “Is” question to “When” – i.e., under what contingency condition is there more or less face loss?

This study examines the effect of five price perception dimensions (price consciousness, price mavenism, sale proneness, price-quality schema, and prestige sensitivity) on consumer's perceived value (acquisition value, and transaction value), and how perceived value affects consumers' behavioral intentions (purchase intentions, and intentions to recommend). It also examines the moderation role of face consciousness.

A quantitative research methodology using online survey technique is employed to collect cross-cultural data from respondents from China (n = 371) and Egypt (n = 384). Structural equation model (SEM) via SmartPLS v.3.2.9 is conducted to analyze data.

The results show that consumers’ behavioral intentions toward suboptimal fresh produce are positively affected by both dimensions of perceived value. As well as, perceived value is influenced by different price perception dimensions. Moreover, face consciousness partially moderates the relationship between perceived value and behavioral intentions.

To best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study to associate price perception dimensions with purchase value dimensions in the context of suboptimal products. It also contributes to utility and purchase value theory by employing the distinct measures of both perceived acquisition value and transaction value, to enable us to obtain a better understanding of the whole picture of perceived value. In addition, it contributes to regulatory focus theory through the inclusion of face consciousness in the purchase value model. Moreover, up to the researchers' knowledge, prior investigation on these issues in Egypt and China as a cross-cultural research does not exist.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of cultural factors (concern for face and stability of attribution) in the relationships among service recovery quality, postrecovery satisfaction and repurchase intention. Based on the politeness theory, this paper proposes a theoretical model for understanding how concern for face and stability of attribution may affect collectivists’ consumption behavior.

Data were collected in a field survey of 600 Hong Kong consumers who had experienced a telecommunications service failure. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the theoretical hypotheses.

A cultural factor of concern for face is found to negatively moderate the relationship between service recovery quality and postrecovery satisfaction. Face also positively influences the relationship between postrecovery satisfaction and repurchase intention. Another cultural factor, stability of attribution, is found to negatively moderate the relationship between service recovery quality and postrecovery satisfaction and to negatively moderate the relationship between postrecovery satisfaction and repurchase intention.

This study contributes to the understanding of the relevance of concern for face and stability of attribution in collectivists’ consumption behavior. The findings have significant implications for managers in a position to exploit the cultural value mechanisms of collectivist consumers.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this has been the first research to examine the impact of concern for face and stability of attribution among service recovery quality, postrecovery satisfaction and repurchase intention.

This paper aims to explore how Chinese negotiators’ positive and negative emotions affect value claiming during dyadic negotiations and examine the influence of these aroused emotions on the recipient as well as the antecedents and consequents of such reactions.

Using a simulated face-to-face negotiation between buyers and sellers, the authors conducted an experiment based on the manipulation of the sellers’ emotions. About 280 undergraduates participated in a simulated negotiation. SPSS20.0 statistical analysis software was used to test the hypothesis.

The results indicated that the sellers who demonstrates negative emotions claimed more value than happy sellers (direct effect), and the perceived power disadvantage mediated this effect. Moreover, buyers in the happy dyads displayed a higher evaluation of their guanxi (relationship). This experiment also indicated that the sellers’ emotions (happiness or anger) evoked a reciprocal emotion in the buyers, supporting the social contagion perspective. More importantly, as emotion recipients, the buyers’ reactions exerted further influence on the outcomes (ripple effect); specifically, in the happy dyads, the buyers’ positive emotional reactions were negatively related to their individual gains. Finally, the buyers with low agreeableness were more likely to display negative emotional reactions.

Negotiators should have an understanding of how emotions may shape conflict development and resolution via direct and ripple effects. In general, during Chinese negotiations, expressing anger is an effective negotiation tactic that incurs the expense of damaged relationships with counterparts.

The findings validated the impact of emotions in the Chinese negotiation context. Further, the paper extended the research by demonstrating the influence of emotions on the recipients’ reactions. Both the direct and ripple effect provided evidence for adopting the strategic choice perspective during negotiations.

While there is vast research on expatriate adjustment, it is still known very little on how self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) in particular might cope with identity conflicts and how they engage with identity work. What is more, although there is some literature on the existence of expatriate bubbles, this does not cover how these bubbles might impact identity work. The purpose of this paper is to explore identity work that is taking place within expatriate bubbles and thus advance our knowledge on both expatriate bubbles and expatriate adjustment.

The study reports on the analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interview data collected from 37 self-initiated expatriate engineers from Greece, Spain and Italy, currently residing in Bristol, UK.

Previous studies have argued that expatriate bubbles impede adjustment. The study analysis, however, shows that expatriate bubbles can be not only a powerful mechanism for coping with foreignness and strengthening their sense of belonging but also act as identity workspaces where SIEs engaged with identity work and navigated identity conflicts.

The present study addresses two empirical gaps: the paucity of literature on the identity work that self-initiated expatriates engage with and the paucity studies on self-initiated expatriate engineers. The study also has a theoretical contribution as, drawing upon a Goffmanian dramaturgical framework sheds light on the back regions of performance taking place within expatriate bubbles. Thus, showing how SIEs relax but also rehearse their performances in order to reduce any identity gaps triggered by the new organisational and national context.

The purpose of this study is to examine two opposing approaches to the effects of power on negotiation: a “collaborative approach” of power and a “competitive approach” of power. Accordingly, the authors state oppositional hypotheses based on each approach. This study further investigates the mediating role of the perceived threat of the negotiation and the moderating role of negotiation topic (i.e. topics that touch on one’s power position versus topics that are related to the tasks one needs to perform) in this relationship. Finally, the authors state a moderated mediation hypothesis where they expected that the negotiation topic would moderate the indirect effect of power on negotiation strategies.

A vignette study (N = 279) and a negotiation game (N = 138) were conducted where the power within dyads was manipulated.

Study 1 showed that powerholders prefer collaborative strategies, whereas powerless negotiators prefer competitive strategies. Perceived threat of the negotiation mediated this effect. Furthermore, both Studies 1 and 2 showed that the negotiation topic moderates the effect of power on negotiation strategies providing further support for the collaborative approach of power. Finally, Study 1 provided partial support for the moderated mediation hypothesis.

Both Studies 1 and 2 are experimental studies. A field study should try to replicate these results in the future.

This study illuminates the effects of power on negotiation and addresses inconsistent findings in the negotiation literature. The results might be of great importance to large organizations where power asymmetries constitute an integral part of the employee/manager interactions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to show the moderating role of negotiation topic in the relationship between power and negotiation.

Scholars and practitioners alike wish to understand what makes workplace conflict beneficial or injurious to, for example, performance and satisfaction. The authors focus on parties’ personal experience of the conflict, which is complementary to studying conflict issues (i.e. task- or relationship-related conflict). Although many authors discuss the personal experience of conflict, which the authors will refer to as conflict personalization, different definitions are used, leading to conceptual vagueness. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop an integrative definition of the concept of conflict personalization.

The authors conducted a systematic literature review to collect definitions and conceptualizations from 41 publications. The subsequent thematic analysis revealed four building blocks that were used to develop an integrative definition of conflict personalization.

The authors developed the following definition: Conflict personalization is the negative affective as well as cognitive reaction to the self being threatened and/or in danger as a result of a social interaction about perceived incompatibilities.

The integrative definition of this study enables the development of a measurement instrument to assess personalization during workplace conflict, paving the way for developing effective research-based interventions.

Conceptual vagueness hampers theoretical development, empirical research and the development of effective interventions. Although the importance of conflict personalization is mentioned within the field of workplace conflict, it has not been empirically studied yet. This paper can serve as the basis for future research in which conflict issue and personal experience are separated.