Negotiations in Various Crisis Situations

Abstract

Negotiation as a communication process is most prevalent in the business world. So, most research and work to date has focused on exploring the specifics of this area. The fundamental difference between business or everyday negotiation and crisis negotiation is that a crisis creates special environmental conditions in which it is impossible to continue normal operations and the problem that has arisen must be resolved. Therefore, the focus of this chapter is on negotiations in crisis situations, which carry greater potential responsibility than ordinary business negotiations. This study looks at strategies and tactics for negotiating in crisis situations, examines specific strategies and tactics, and determines whether there are certain regularities in negotiating in crisis situations. Crisis situations also require an urgent solution to the problem, as the cost of not reaching an agreement is high. The phenomenon of negotiation is seen as a communication process. The specific objective is to investigate the importance of communication in the negotiation process in different crisis situations. The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 15 interviewees from different countries in Europe and the Middle East who have experience in crisis negotiations. Each of them had a specific negotiation situation and the only thing they have in common is the experience of negotiating in a crisis. The results indicate that in the different areas of negotiation, the focus is on building long-term relationships, an integrative negotiation strategy and attention to ethical negotiation tactics.

Citation

Sedak, K., Matijašević, K. and Pranjić, L. (2024), "Negotiations in Various Crisis Situations", Einwiller, S., Seiffert-Brockmann, J., Romenti, S. and Valentini, C. (Ed.) Communication in Uncertain Times (Advances in Public Relations and Communication Management, Vol. 7), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 55-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2398-391420240000007005