Resolving Conflicts over Ethical
Robert van Es
Issues: Face-to-face Versus Internet
Warren French
Negotiations
Felix Stellmaszek
ABSTRACT. Is the Internet an appropriate medium to
discussion. With this in mind Drake et al. (2000)
use when attempting to resolve conflicts over ethical is-
present a thought provoking argument that infor-
sues in business? The research reported on in this paper
mation technology can go a long way to facilitate
focuses on internet versus face-to-face negotiations as a
moral dialogues in business. Grounding their argu-
component of applied discourse ethics. Although internet
ment on the theory of moral discourse presented by
negotiation has serious restrictions, it also has specific
Habermas, they list potential benefits of ethical
qualities. It enhances reflection and plays down emotion.
negotiation conducted over the Internet. Certainly,
Important qualities when handling complex and delicate
in an era of globalized trade, when making time to
ethical issues.
meet those with whom one has an ethical problem is
a begrudged use of a scarce resource, there is an
KEY WORDS: moral dialogue, negotiation ethics, face-
allure to Drake s argument.
to-face negotiations, Internet negotiations, universalism,
benevolence A derivative question relates to the values
underpinning an ethical argument. Habermas (1979)
has claimed the most successful moral dialogues will
result in a new position based on shared values
arising from the discourse. The assumption made is
Negotiating ethics and reordering values
that negotiators will discover (reorder) their values
during the course of the moral dialogue.
How much time do businesspeople have for
French et al. (2002) investigated negotiation ethics
thoughtful resolutions to ethical problems? Meeting
as a component of applied discourse ethics. They
face-to-face with a supplier, colleague or client to
found that the expression of shared values is not
resolve an ethical issue takes a block of time  the
sufficient to resolve ethical conflicts. Resolutions of
span of which is usually not known ahead of the
conflicts over ethical issues are produced by a mutual
reframing process during constructivist negotiation
with little attention explicitly paid to shared values.
Schwartz (1996) presents evidence that people do
Robert van Es is Lecturer in Organizational Philosophy at the
reorder priorities among their values, dependent on
University of Amsterdam, and Consultant in Organizational
the situations, which they face. He has found reor-
Culture and Ethics. His research area is negotiating ethics
dering between situations to be most likely in the
across cultures.
Warren French is the I.W. Cousins Professor of Business Ethics form of shifting from one value to a compatible value.
at the Terry School  University of Georgia. He also serves as
Compatibility refers to values within the same cate-
a visiting faculty member at the University of Lyon III where
gorical dimension and, to a lesser extent, to another
he teaches business ethics. His research area is conflict reso-
categorical dimension, which is close to the original
lution through discourse ethics.
dimension under his graphical scheme. What
Felix Stellmaszek earned an MBA at the University of Georgia
Schwartz did not investigate is whether people reor-
and is a Cand.rer.pol. at the University of Erlangen-
der their values within any one situation in the process
Nürnberg. He has worked as a consultant both for Porsche
of moral dialogue or constructivist negotiation.
and for Accenture.
Journal of Business Ethics 53: 165 172, 2004.
Ó 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
166 Robert van Es et al.
Grounded in the work of Drake, French, Haber- The argumentation used in these two sets of
mas and Schwartz the following research proposi- negotiations was analyzed using Schwartz s classifi-
tions are posited. While Drake et al. (2000) pose an cation for values as well as Brown s (1996) classifi-
interesting theory about the efficiency and effec- cation for ethical arguments. Brown s basic model
tiveness of moral dialogue over the Internet; does contains four elements relating to ethical discourse:
further data support their theory? Our first proposi-
tion is   Negotiations concerning a business issue 1. Proposals: prescriptive statements that suggest
with ethical ramifications, conducted over the In- action,
ternet, will produce a greater percentage of successful 2. Observations: descriptive statements that por-
resolutions than those conducted face-to-face  . tray situations,
Past research by Van Es (1996) has found that 3. Value Judgments: normative statements that
values are not brought up to great extent in face-to- guide actions, and
face business negotiations over an ethical issue. Will 4. Assumptions: reflective statements that express
the physical separation and asynchronous timing of views and attitudes.
Internet negotiations lead to more disclosure of
values? Our second proposition is   There will be Brown s justification for his coding scheme comes
more mentions of values in Internet negotiations from his adaptation of the argumentation model
concerning a business issue with ethical ramifications posited by Toulmin (1957). He adapts Toulmin s
than in face to face negotiations  . model to ethical arguments by substituting discourse
Past research by French et al. (2001) has ques- ethics terminology into Toulmin s logical argu-
tioned whether shared values appear without guid- mentation process. This adaptation process is de-
ance in face-to-face business negotiations over scribed in detail in Brown s (1990) earlier text.
ethical issues. Will the physical separation and Schwartz (1996), in turn, claims that a set of
asynchronous timing of Internet negotiations lead to universal values exists in cultures around the world.
the recognition of more shared values upon which a He further claims that there are 10 such values,
resolution can be based? Our third proposition is grouped under four dimensions, which he labels self-
  Resolutions to conflict over a business issue with transcendence, self-enhancement, conservation and
ethical ramifications will be based more on com- openness to change (see Table I for a listing of these
patible values rather than on shared values  . values). The basis for his claim is a set of data
gathered from over 40 countries located on six
continents. The priorities assigned to these values,
Research method however, differ between countries, within countries
and even within people. It is the degree to which
A business case with strong ethical ramifications was they shift within people that is of interest in this
created to investigate the three research propositions research. To this end two judges jointly coded paper
(see Appendix 1). This case was analyzed by a large copy transcripts of the 20 Internet negotiations that
set of subjects who made a binary choice  to either had been conducted on a restricted access discussion
keep a chemical plant open or shut it down. Then 40 board. The same judges then coded the 20 audio-
subjects, split into 20 pairs based on their decisions taped, face-to-face negotiations. Disagreements over
about the case, negotiated the case over the Internet. coding were reconciled by referring back to the
Another 40 subjects, also assigned to 20 pairs, detailed work of both Brown and Schwartz.
negotiated the case face-to-face. Each of the sub-
jects, all U.S. citizens, possessed a university degree
and had been in the work place before returning to a Analysis of Internet Negotiations
university setting for advanced business training.
Our samples are modest in numbers and show a The main values voiced in this particular case, using
strong homogeneity; therefore the results of our Schwartz s taxonomy, were: universalism (usually
research are primarily to be regarded as good heu- expressed by those who initially wanted to shut the
ristic insights. factory down), and benevolence (usually expressed
Face-to-face Versus Internet Negotiations 167
TABLE I TABLE II
Values underlying the ethical argumentation Values expressed in negotiations regarding an ethical issue
Keep plant open Shut plant down Successful Failed
negotiations negotiations
Self-transcendencea
Universalism 7 38 Internet negotiations
Benevolence 32 6 Shared values 4 3
Openness to change Compatible valuesa 81
Self Direction 9 20 Disparate values 2 2
Stimulation 1 1 Face-to-face negotiations
Conservation Shared values 8 2
Security 26 3 Compatible values 2 7
Tradition 6 4 Disparate values 1 0
Conformity 6 2
a
Compatible values are restricted in this research to values
Self-enhancement
classified under the same dimension. The four dimensions
Power 15 3
are listed in Table I.
Achievement 0 0
Hedonismb 61
a
64 of the 80 subjects mentioned more than one value.
perceived responsibility. They were more open to
b
Hedonism can be classified under the openness to change
alternative resolutions if the employees economic
dimension as well.
well-being was assured.
Fourteen of the 20 Internet negotiations resulted
by those who initially wanted to keep the plant in a mutually agreeable resolution (see Table II).
open) (see Table I). The difference in applying these Two of these negotiations were conducted syn-
values often reduced to the span of those harmed: chronously, both resulting in a resolution. Syn-
chronous Internet negotiations contained more
(a) wide definition of non-maleficence for those (average 19) but shorter comments than did asyn-
expressing a value of universalism (deonto- chronous negotiations. The number of different
logical argumentation about physical harm to statements input by both parties into the asynchro-
human life), nous Internet negotiations ranged from 6 to 12 with
(b) narrow definition of non-maleficence for a median average being 11. Again, all statements
those expressing limited benevolence (teleo- were coded using Marvin Brown s four-part cate-
logical argumentation about responsibility of gorization scheme (see Table III). Each negotiator s
managers for employees/families). entire comment, irrespective of length, was consid-
ered as one statement. Any one statement was coded
There was a higher likelihood for a resolution when to allow for more than one of the four designations.
both parties were open to new proposals. Addi- The Internet negotiators reviewed previous
tionally, the likelihood for a resolution increased statements quite often and, consequently, reviewed
when alternatives were given at the beginning of the each other s assumptions as well as the relatively few
negotiation. When this occurred, one or both parties observations that were made. This might be typical
continued the rest of the negotiation without fear of for Internet based negotiations, since rereading
losing respect in the eyes of the other for abandoning previous statements precludes the need to rehash
the original decision. objective facts. In truth, negotiators using the In-
Generally, the negotiators who initially wanted to ternet may not have to be as well prepared as those
shut the plant down were less flexible than those negotiating face-to-face, since they have time lags
who wanted to keep it open. Their prime value was between their comments to reflect on both past
not to physically harm others. Those who wanted to statements and possible future tactics. Evidence for
keep the plant open tended to consider only the this conjecture derives from the fact that early
well-being of employees, for whom they had a statements were reread seven times on average,
168 Robert van Es et al.
TABLE III
Profiles of ethical speech patterns by success of the negotiation
Proposal Observation Value judgment Assumption Total (%)
average (%) average (%) average (%) average (%)
Successful internet negotiations 35.9 17.4 24.2 22.5 100.0
Successful face-to-face negotiations 37.4 16.4 21.6 24.6 100.0
Failed internet negotiations 27.7 15.6 28.9 27.8 100.0
Failed face-to-face negotiations 16.1 18.0 37.4 28.5 100.0
while latter statements were reread four times on grounds for initial positions, e.g., three people
average. would died versus 300 handicapped, non-mobile
Very few of the comments seemed to express people would lose their jobs.
intense emotion. In contrast, a few of the face-to- In most of the resolutions egoistic, personal,
face negotiations were highly charged with emotion. hedonistic well-being was not mentioned, and if
Many of the Internet negotiation statements ap- mentioned, it was mentioned in initial positions, but
peared to follow a logical progression. Some nego- not in the latter stages of the discourse. Religious
tiators even listed the arguments of the adversary and values as well did not enter into the discussions. But,
addressed these points in sequential order. That self-respect, classified under the dimension labeled
would be quite difficult in face-to-face negations if Self Direction, did appear to be an underlying
there were numerous and/or complex points. influence for many of the negotiators. One reason
However, in one case where a participant tried to may be a fear that abandoning original values would
control the Internet negotiation using sequential, be seen as a weakness and cause lack of respect from
deductive logic and textbook negotiation tech- others, when searching for a new proposal? Ironi-
niques, there was intransigence due to the other cally, self-respect could have been turned from an
party s perception of being controlled and not being obstacle to a core shared value if it had been ap-
an equal party to the resolution. proached constructively? This would be the case in
In each of the 20 Internet negotiations underlying face-to-face negotiations as well as in Internet
values were made clear. It appeared that negotiators negotiations.
wanted to reveal their reasoning in order to justify
their decisions. Rarely was there a search, though,
for a resolution based on a shared value even though Analysis of face-to-face negotiations
shared values existed (see Table II). Also, fewer value
reordering than expected appeared in these negoti- Only 11 of the 20 face-to-face negotiations were
ations. Perhaps, this is because Schwartz s identifi- successfully resolved. The number of statements
cation of value tradeoffs was between situations constituting the negotiations ranged from 13 to 86
rather than within one situation. The negotiations with the median average being 29.
concerned only one issue (situation). There were many more requests for clarification
The two values, which the adversaries most fre- in the face-to-face negotiations than in the ones
quently expressed  universalism and benevolence  conducted via the Internet. Most of these requests
are part of Schwartz s value dimension labeled came as interruptions to the other party s presenta-
self-transcendence. In terms of Schwartz s theory tion. Interruptions make it difficult to understand
this should lay the grounds for a not too difficult the presenter s complete argument. The interrupter
trade-off. Yet, most negotiators kept closely to their tended to focus on a particular point made by the
initially expressed values and did not move that short other party (analogous to focusing on a tree) rather
distance to a shared value. Part of the failure was due than on the other party s total presentation of a
to stubbornness to move away from tangible data contextual argument (analogous to focusing on a
points in the case  data points that became the forest). If the interrupter had waited for the other
Face-to-face Versus Internet Negotiations 169
party to finish the presentation, the questioned point evidenced in the face-to-face negotiations in one of
might have been clarified. These interruptions and two ways. First, one of the parties suggested a format
the perceived failure on the part of the interrupter to for the subsequent argumentation at the beginning
understand the complete argument of the presenter of the negotiation. Second, one of the parties took
may have been the cause of the presenter reiterating brief notes of what was transpiring during the
key parts of the presenter s argument  many more negotiation. This helped attain MC and defuse
restatements than found in the Internet negotiations. emotion. But, does the nature of a face to face-to-
Reiteration of statements is most likely the pre- face negotiation, as contrasted with an Internet
senter s attempt to bring about one of Habermas negotiation, make it more difficult to rationally
four preconditions for successful discourse  that of deliberate over ethical arguments?
mutual comprehension (MC). The presenter s hope
may be that as soon as the other party comprehends
the logic of the presenter s argument, the other party Discussion
will, at the least, respect the presenter and, at best, be
won over by the argument. Synchronous face-to-face negotiations, while they
In this particular ethical dilemma two of Haber- allow for time to prepare a strategy before the
mas four preconditions  truth and truthfulness  negotiation, allow for little time to revise that
should be taken as a given. Both parties were strategy during the negotiation. In contrast, asyn-
provided with the same background information chronous Internet negotiations allow time to delib-
(satisfying the precondition for truth) and, thus, erate changes of strategy as well as tactics during the
there were few if any opportunities for deception negotiation. The added time can be used not only
(satisfying the precondition for truthfulness.) The for reflection but also for checking one s own logic
focal points of this negotiation should reduce to the and terminology. The negotiator can then structure
other two of Habermas four preconditions  MC comments so as to preclude anticipated questions
and Appropriateness (A). and potential objections.
Paraphrasing on the part of the second party Additional time for reflection is just one of the
shows that a degree of MC has been attained. potential benefits of negotiating ethical issues over
Paraphrasing was more evident in the Internet the Internet. Other benefits are listed in Table IV.
negotiations than in the face-to-face negotiations. These benefits might help explain why the first re-
That may have occurred because each party had time search proposition,   Negotiations concerning a
to reflect on the other party s complete argument, business issue with ethical ramifications, conducted
i.e., last statement as well as all preceding statements, over the Internet, will produce a greater percentage
before responding with a paraphrase. This is a ben- of successful resolutions than those conducted face-
efit of asynchronous Internet negotiations. The to-face  , was supported by this study. But, Internet
argumentative process in the failed negotiations was negotiation is not without its detriments. Two of the
slightly different. In all of the failed Internet nego- detriments pointed out by Drake et al. merit serious
tiations the parties at least attempted to satisfy attention. One is that most people would rather talk
Habermas precondition of A. They tested alterna- than pursue the more arduous task of typing com-
tive positions. In some of the failed face-to-face ments on a discussion board. The typing task may
negotiations neither party attempted to explore motivate negotiators to move too rapidly toward
other alternatives or A. They just agreed to disagree. closure. The second problem is the one most
In the face-to-face negotiations there were quite a emphasized by those who favor face-to-face nego-
few reflective comments at the end, i.e., after a tiations. It is that non-verbal cues, indicating the
resolution had been reached or the parties had other party s receptivity to a statement, are stripped
agreed to disagree. One could attribute this to the from the message.
negotiators desire for respect  respect for the logic It was assumed that the discussion board would
behind their decision. The more structured the act as an electronic firewall behind which Internet
negotiation the less emotional it was, and the more negotiators would feel comfortable expressing val-
likely that it resulted in a resolution. Structure was ues. It was also assumed that face-to-face negotiators
170 Robert van Es et al.
TABLE IV
The impact of information technology on moral dialogue: modification of the Drake, Yuthas and Dillard model
Characteristics of moral dialogue Ways Internet negotiation supports moral dialogue
Power neutrality Equalizes message status
Required technological skills are minimal
Creates a distance between speaker and message
Minimizes power of rhetorical skills
Generality Helps overcome physical barriers
Minimizes chronological constraints
Discussions are more focused
Quicker assimilation of typed information
Autonomous evaluation Provides access to past statements
More time for reflection
Facilitates structured discussion of values and assumptions
Reduction of emotional statements
Reduction of redundancies
Role taking Improves understanding
Key issues can be highlighted
Improves organization of the components of an argument
Transparency Deception is more visible
Increased accountability due to visible record of statements
would feel somewhat self-conscious and, perhaps, Internet negotiations. The conclusion is that one of
too candid if they expressed the values underlying Habermas preconditions for successful discourse
their positions. In addition, the pressure to make the ethics, mutual comprehension, was evidenced more
best use of time in face-to-face negotiations, i.e., not in the Internet negotiations than in the face-to-face
create   dead air  moments of silence, could cause negotiations.
negotiators to make reflexive comments, some of The results presented in Table II relate to the
which might include a questioning of values. But, third research proposition,   Resolutions to conflict
the second research proposition,  There will be more over a business issue with ethical ramifications will
mentions of values in Internet negotiations con- be based more on compatible values rather than on
cerning a business issue with ethical ramifications shared values  , can be somewhat misleading. The
than in face-to-face negotiations  , was not sup- proposition has superficial support in the Internet
ported in this study. negotiations but not in the face-to-face negotiations.
Paradoxically, successful negotiations, irrespective In none of the 25 successful negotiations, however,
of the discourse medium, elicited fewer value did the subjects specifically mention that the reso-
statements than did the unsuccessful negotiations lution satisfied the values of one party, let alone both
(see Table III). parties. Perhaps there is a subconscious filter, which
What was noted with respect to the second re- will not support a resolution unless personal values
search proposition were the types of comments are satisfied.
made about values in the face-to-face negotiations. There were reordering of values within the nego-
Requests for clarification and restatement of original tiations, five in the face-to-face set and two in the
values occurred much more frequently in these Internet set. These reordering were primarily from an
negotiations than in the Internet negotiations. Single original value of benevolence to a new, shared value
mentions of one s values and paraphrasing of the of universalism, which matched the original value of
other party s values occurred more frequently in the the other party. All seven reordering were associated
Face-to-face Versus Internet Negotiations 171
with successful resolutions. One observation worth agreeable solutions in less statement exchanges. Both
reiterating was the difficulty that the subjects had in Internet and face-to-face negotiations values were
moving from benevolence to universalism, two values only modestly expressed. When they were expressed
nested within the same dimension labeled self-tran- shared values dominated the face-to-face negotia-
scendence. Most of the failed face-to-face negotia- tions and compatible values dominated the Internet
tions were marked by this intransigence (again, see negotiations. A serious reordering of values was
Table I). A possible explanation why those who reached in 7 out of 40 negotiations. All seven re-
demonstrated reasoning based on benevolence may sulted in a successful solution, because subjects suc-
have been unwilling to take a more universalistic ceeded in a process of reframing from benevolence
position can be traced back to the work of Stanley to universalism.
Milgram (1963). He found that it is easier to harm To increase the success of face-to-face negotia-
those whom you have never met than those whom tions subjects are advised to either begin their dia-
you are likely to come in contact with. This was the logue by agreeing on the format of their
undertone in many of the failed negotiations. negotiations, or take notes during them. To increase
the success of Internet negotiations subjects are
advised to move away from the strict tangible
Conclusions data of the case and create their own room to
manoeuvre.
Negotiations on ethical issues were more successful
when alternative positions rather than value judg-
ments or assumptions dominated the discussion. An Appendix 1. Managerial decision
important factor in reaching agreeable solutions is
You are plant manager of a chemical firm north of
respect  not only in regard to the issue and to the
Midland, Michigan. The fumes from your plant are toxic
groups represented, but also in regard to the actual
and usually blow in a northeast direction into Ontario,
negotiators. Especially when values are reordered
Canada. The fallout from the fumes is killing the forests in
negotiators are keen on self-respect; they wanted to
the wind s path.
be perceived as self-aware negotiators who decided
Your plant s employees are all partially handicapped.
what is best under the circumstances.
Yours is the only firm in the state that goes out of its way
Face-to-face negotiations on moral issues are
to hire the handicapped. Without these jobs at least 300 of
modest in the use of paraphrases and have little time
them could not find work elsewhere. The odds are 70 30
for reflection or changing strategy. They need a lot
that 140 of the 300 would see their families break up. The
of time for preparation, sometimes include strong
cost of putting scrubbers in the smokestacks is prohibitive.
emotional behavior, an often use interruption
The firm will shut down the plant as inefficient if the
to require clarification of statements. Internet pollution had to be cleaned up.
You are 61 years old and 1 year away from retirement.
negotiators on moral issues need less preparation
You have no savings since your spouse has severe allergies
time, show little emotional behavior and interrup-
and takes care of your 30-year-old handicapped child. If
tion is not an option. They use paraphrases inten-
the plant closes down you will be terminated with a
sively, offer plenty of time for reflection, and offer
$100,000 lump sum retirement fee. If you can last until
several opportunities to change strategy.
retirement, the firm will give you $35,000 per year for the
Most participants find face-to-face negotiations
rest of your life. The odds are 90 10 that your age and
attractive because they liked talking to each other
skills would not enable you to find another job in the area.
more than typing, and they like the opportunity to
Your spouse s allergies demand that you live in the area.
communicate non-verbally. The lack of non-verbal
The Canadians have commissioned a scientific study
cues is a serious restriction of Internet negotiation; it
that arrived at the following conclusions:
also it s critical quality. Precisely because there is
only verbal communication, subjects need to pay
1. Your plant alone is the major cause of forest dev-
special attention to careful reading and writing,
astation in a 100 square mile area of Ontario.
interpreting and paraphrasing. In delicate moral 2. The loss of timer is $100,000 per year. (The loss of
jobs to your handicapped workers who probably
matters Internet negotiation tended to lead to more
172 Robert van Es et al.
French, Warren, Christian Hasslein and Robert van Es:
could not find other employment would cost them
2002,  Constructivist Negotiation Ethic , Journal of
$1 million in wages per year.)
Business Ethics 39, 83 90.
3. The odds are 80 20 that the 300 Canadians living
Habermas, Jurgen: 1979, Communication and the Evolution
in that wooded area of Ontario will have their lives
of Society (Beacon Press, Boston).
shortened by 5 years if the pollution continues for
Milgram, Stanley: 1963,  Behavioral Study of Obedi-
six more months. About three of those Canadians
ence , Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 67(4),
will develop cancer because of the pollution (if it
371 378.
continues) and die painfully. All of the 300 Cana-
Schwartz, Shalom: 1996,  Values Priorities and Behavior:
dians in that area live in religious commune.
Applying a Theory of Integrated Value System , in C.
Seligman, J. M. Olson and M. P. Zanna (eds.), The
The Canadians demand that you clean up or shut
Psychology of Values: The Ontario Symposium, Vol. 8.
down. The U.S. government refuses to interfere. The
(Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ), pp. 1 24.
firm s CEO says the decision is yours. Given that you
Toulmin, Stephen: 1957, The Uses of Argument (Cam-
must choose only one of the following two options,
bridge University Press, New York).
which would you choose?
Van Es, Robert: 1996, Negotiating Ethics. On Ethics
1. Keep the plant open ___.
in Negotiation and Negotiating in Ethics (Eburon, Delft).
2. Shut the plant down ___.
Robert van Es
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