A Study Of The Relationship Between The Negotiation Behaviors And Negotiation Outcomes In The Construction Conflicts Management

There are a large number of conflicts happening during the whole life cycle of aconstruction project. How to deal with the conflicts will significantly affect theperformance of a project. A project management team with high efficiency willresolve the conflict in the early stage. Negotiation is often the first choice to solve theconflicts. Negotiation will set up a harmonious atmosphere for the participants tobargain in, to make a concession, and ultimately to solve the conflict. Compared withother methods such as arbitration and litigation, negotiation is more flexible, morecost-saving and more time-saving. It is helpful for the participants to maintain acooperative relationship in the future. Negotiation has become a hot topic in the fieldof construction management. There are plenty of factors which can affect the successof the negotiation, such as the position of each party, the adequacy of the evidence forthe conflicts, and so on. Different kinds of negotiation behaviors could bring differentprocess and outcomes of negotiation. Hence, the primary objective of this study is toinvestigate the relationship between the negotiation behaviors and outcomes.To achieve this, the author reviewed plenty of literature domestic and foreign,defining26behaviors commonly used in conflict management and19relatedoutcomes. Considering the language habits and condition of employees ofconstruction industry in mainland China, the author conducted a questionnaire surveyabout negotiation behaviors and outcomes. A total of151questionnaires were sent toconstruction professionals and experts in mainland China, requiring the respondentsto assess their behaviors and the outcomes in recent negotiations. With the principalcomponent factor analysis (PCFA),5factors extracted from26negotiation behaviors,named as: Integrating, Dominating, Obliging, Compromising and Avoiding; andanother5factors was extracted from19negotiation outcomes, named as: Win-win,Stalemate, Conflict exacerbated, Win-lose and Quit. Based on the factors identified bythe PCFA, the regression functions between the negotiation behaviors and outcomeswere developed using multiple regression analyses (MRA). The relationship betweenthe negotiation behaviors and outcomes was analyzed through the examination withthe regression functions.Then, interviewing some construction professionals, the author collected the dataand cases related to the topic, analyzed a typical case combining the effect mentioned above, and proved the relationship between the negotiation behaviors and outcomes.Finally, a strategy of negotiation behaviors choosing was proposed, which striveto satisfy the goals and needs of all the parties to achieve win-win, and to create acondition for the further cooperation in the future. The results show that Integrating isthe most helpful way to achieve win-win. All participants should take the Integrating,not the Obliging and Avoiding, to avoid the negative outcomes as Conflictexacerbated and Stalemate.