Development of a Validated Scoring Instrument for Businesses to Help Measure Negotiation Styles in Business Partnerships

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
• 1.1. Relevance to Business Practice
• 1.2. Academic Relevance
• 1.3. Theoretical Contribution of this Thesis
• 1.4. Thesis Structure
• 2. Literature Review - Negotiation Style Scoring Instruments
• 2.1. Psychometric Properties – An Overview
• 2.1.1. Reliability Indexes
• 2.1.2. Validity Indexes
• 2.2. Historical Development of Approaches to Measure Negotiation Behaviour
• 2.3. The Managerial Grid
• 2.4. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict MODE Instrument
• 2.4.1. Critical Assessment of the Theoretical Foundation
• 2.4.2. Critical Analysis of the Psychometric Properties
• 2.5. The Conflict Management Message Style Instrument
• 2.5.1. Critical Assessment of Theoretical Foundation
• 2.5.2. Critical Analysis of the Psychometric Properties
• 2.6. The Hall Conflict Management Survey
• 2.6.1. Critical Assessment of the Theoretical Foundation
• 2.6.2. Critical Analysis of the Psychometric Properties
• 2.7. The Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II
• 2.7.1. Critical Assessment of the Theoretical Foundation
• 2.7.2. Critical Analysis of the Psychometric Properties
• 2.8. The Organizational Communication Conflict Instrument
• 2.8.1. Critical Assessment of the Theoretical Foundation
• 2.8.2. Critical Analysis of the Psychometric Properties
• 2.9. Conclusion
• 3. Discussion of an Integrated Theoretical Foundation
• 3.1. Attitude-Behaviour Theorising
• 3.1.1. The Theory of Reasoned Action
• 3.1.2. Critical Assessment of the TRA
• 3.2. Developing a New Model for the Explanation of an Individual's Behaviour
• 3.2.1. Predispositions
• 3.2.2. Strategy
• 3.2.3. Tactics
• 3.2.4. Relational Influencing Factors
• 3.2.5. Situational Influencing Factors
• 3.3. A Model for the Classification of Negotiation Styles
• 4. Development of the Negotiation Styles Scoring Instrument
• 4.1. Construct Definition
• 4.2. Object Classification
• 4.3. Attribute Classification
• 4.4. Rater Identification
• 4.5. Scale formation
• 4.6. Enumeration
• 4.7. Designing Scenarios to Define Different Negotiation Situations
• 5. Empirical Validation of the Proposed Negotiation Style Scoring Instrument
• 5.1. Methodology
• 5.1.1. Participants
• 5.1.2. Procedure and Results
• 5.2. Discussion of the Results
• 6. Suggestion of a New Negotiation Style Scoring Instrument
• 7. Summary and Conclusions

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis aims to develop a validated scoring instrument for businesses to measure negotiation styles in business partnerships. This instrument aims to provide a reliable and valid method for identifying different negotiation styles, thereby aiding companies in selecting suitable partners and fostering effective communication in business relationships.

• Psychometric properties of negotiation style scoring instruments
• Historical development of approaches to measure negotiation behaviour
• Development of an integrated theoretical foundation for understanding negotiation styles
• Empirical validation of a new negotiation style scoring instrument
• Suggestion of a new negotiation style scoring instrument

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

Chapter 1 introduces the thesis, outlining its relevance to both business practice and academic research. It also details the theoretical contribution of the work and provides a comprehensive overview of the thesis structure.

Chapter 2 presents a detailed literature review of existing negotiation style scoring instruments, examining their psychometric properties and historical development. It critically assesses the theoretical foundations and psychometric properties of various instruments, including the Managerial Grid, the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict MODE Instrument, the Conflict Management Message Style Instrument, the Hall Conflict Management Survey, the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II, and the Organizational Communication Conflict Instrument.

Chapter 3 delves into the discussion of an integrated theoretical foundation for understanding negotiation styles. It examines the theory of reasoned action and its limitations, before proposing a new model that considers predispositions, strategy, tactics, relational influencing factors, and situational influencing factors. This chapter concludes with a model for the classification of negotiation styles.

Chapter 4 focuses on the development of the negotiation styles scoring instrument. It outlines the construct definition, object classification, attribute classification, rater identification, scale formation, enumeration, and the design of scenarios to define different negotiation situations.

Chapter 5 details the empirical validation of the proposed negotiation style scoring instrument. It describes the methodology used, including the participants, procedures, and results of the study. Finally, it discusses the results of the reliability and factor analysis.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This thesis focuses on the development and validation of a new negotiation style scoring instrument. It examines various existing instruments, their psychometric properties, and theoretical foundations. Key concepts include negotiation style, psychometric properties, reliability, validity, conflict management, attitude-behaviour theorising, and empirical validation.