Problem-solving approach in an international context: Antecedents and outcome

Our purpose is to study the antecedents and outcome of the problem-solving approach (or PSA) in export negotiations. Particular attention is paid to the national cultural (inter-cultural vs. intra-cultural) context as an important factor. One hundred and forty industrial exporters from the Philippines responded to a survey inquiring about a 'recently concluded business negotiation.' Antecedents of the negotiators' problem-solving approach were found to be negotiators' perceptions of their partners' PSA and their firms' emphasis on group decision making. Individual characteristics of the negotiators and, most notably, cultural context seem to have borne no relationship to the exporters' PSA. Negotiators' perceptions of partners' PSA were also found to be related to their expressed satisfaction. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.