Information Exchange in Negotiations: Trust Level, Trust Radius, and Harmony Concern in East Asia versus West

Decades of negotiation research support the theory linking trust and integrative negotiations: high levels of trust foster cooperation, which manifests in information exchange about interests and priorities, ultimately leading to insight and joint gains. In this research, we present a meta-analysis (Study 1) demonstrating that this Western-centric model may not generalize to non-Western cultures. To better understand the processes underlying integrative negotiations in East Asian cultures, we introduce two constructs to the theory. “Trust radius” refers to the width of the social circle within which people are willing to trust and cooperate. “Harmony concern” refers to the intention to cultivate and maintain a harmonious relationship that avoids conflict and discord with others. In four studies—a survey (Study 2), two experiments (Studies 3a and 3b), and a simulation (Study 4)—we show that trust radius, which tends to be wider in Western than in non-Western cultures, moderates the relationship between trust level and information exchange. We also find that harmony concern, rather than trust level, directly predicts information exchange in East Asian cultures but not in Western cultures. This research offers a novel perspective on the cultural differences between the West and East Asia in negotiation processes. It also highlights the theoretical distinction between trust level and trust radius in social contexts where people encounter unfamiliar counterparts.