A contextual model of negotiation orientation

Much of the previous research on buyer-seller negotiations has demonstrated that the styles and approaches taken by individual negotiators can impact the buyer and seller satisfaction levels as well the profit levels of the organizations that they represent. In demonstrating these effects, however, researchers have characterized these negotiation approaches in a variety of ways. This research proposes negotiation orientation (NO) as a contextually determined motivational construct that underlies behavior in negotiations. NO is defined and linked to several antecedents and consequences drawn from the negotiation and sales literature in a theoretically sound nomological network. The proposed model reduces conceptual confusion and overlap in the literature while suggesting a number of interesting directions for future research.