The behavioural dimensions of construction dispute negotiation

Negotiating dispute involves finding common grounds over disagreements, thus sometimes is viewed as an art. Construction disputes are always negotiated first before other resolution methods come to service. Reaching a settlement through negotiation helps to maintain a harmonious relationship between the disputants. In these regards, negotiation is the most cost efficient method to resolve construction dispute. Negotiation skill therefore is essential to all construction professionals. This chapter first gives a brief introduction of the traditions of negotiation studies. Then, the causes of negotiation failure are discussed with emphasis on the behavioural factors. A study on the relation between negotiating style and negotiation outcome is presented to illustrate the impact of behavioural factor. It is found that the use of obliging, dominating and avoiding styles appear to be less influential in achieving functional negotiation outcomes than using integrating style. The use of compromising style is also found to be a practical approach in resolving dispute.