Industrialization and globalization are the keydriving forces connecting different nations in the global economy. The effectsof globalization can be seen by the constant change in the business world and growingpopularity of cross border interactions. The numbers of internationalagreements are rapidly increasing to secure peace and as well as economic,environmental and social development across the globe. In order to reach anagreement, two or more parties that share the same and conflicting interestsinteract in a negotiation process.1The negotiating parties canbe representatives of a country, company, or an organization. This study willanalyze the different negotiation styles across cultures with focus on the UnitedKingdom (UK), United States of America (US) and Germany in a business tobusiness situation (B2B).

 Before understanding each of the country’s negotiationstyle, the terms negotiation and culture will be addressed in the first andsecond part of this research paper. The factor of national cultural differencesmakes negotiations that occur across national boundaries more complex thanthose that occur in a domestic setting i.e. within national boundaries. Becausenational cultures differ, negotiation styles across nations also differ.

It istherefore the aim of this paper to explore possible reasons why the negotiationstyles differ and the sources of those styles. This will be addressed in thelast part and how these negotiation styles are closely linked to the dimensionsof culture. The cultural dimensions will be explained from the point of view ofa well-respected Dutch anthropologist known as Hofstede. The NegotiationProcess and stages of a Negotiation will also be identified in this paper andmost importantly how the elements of the negotiation process can be related toHofstede’s cultural dimensions.  Negotiation styles are based on Western stereotypicalconcepts. These concepts do reflect ideas of cultures, social structures andvalues of members taking part in a negotiation. Stereotypes however do notcompletely portray a picture of reality, hence negotiation styles can either beexaggerated or over-simplified.

As a result, the research paper will provide aconceptual starting point from which to build insight into identifying anegotiation style not only from the 3 countries mentioned in this paper butalso as a guideline to help identify the negotiation styles of other countries.     1 D.W. Hendon, et al., Cross-CulturalBusiness Negotiations, Westport, Quorum, 1996, p. 1.