Columns

A Difficult Debut at Negot tion Journal

Deborah M. Kolb, Michael Wheeler andJ. William Breslin

T h i s issue marks a very difficult debut for us as editors of Negotia- tion Journal, a publication that Jef- frey Z. Rubin literally defined from its first issue in 1985 through all of the 1995 volume year. We greatly miss our dear friend and colleague, who died in a hiking accident last June in Maine at the age of 54.

Jeff worked diligently to insure that this journal would be read by, and be useful to, an eclectic reader- ship of negot ia t ion scholars and p r ac t i t i one r s . He was a supe rb "boundary spanner" in this highly diverse field, and succeeded bril- liantly in encouraging, editing, and publishing thought-provoking arti- cles about the processes of negotia- t ion and nego t i a t i on theory . He strongly believed that a sound theo- retical framework informs practice,

and that theory evolves from the experience of those who practice.

J e f f - who loved using theatrical metaphors - - is surely one "hard act to follow." His contributions to the readers and essayists of Negotiation Journal were unique. Though we can never be the "one, singular sen- sation" that our brilliant friend was, we shall look to his ou t s t and ing a c c o m p l i s h m e n t as a guide and model in preparing each issue of Negotiation Journal. In the coming months, astute readers may notice a few editorial changes, but these will be of the evolutionary, not revolu- tionary, variety.

Starting with this issue (in keep- ing with an innovation planned by Jeff Rubin), most articles in Negotia- tion Journal are now preceded by an abstract. It is our hope that these

D e b o r a h M. Kolb is Professor of Management at the Simmons College Graduate School of Manage- ment in Boston, Mass. Michael Whee le r is Ford Visiting Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School in Boston. They are the Faculty Editors of NegottattonJournal.J. Wil l iam Bresl in is Director of Publications for the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and Exec- utive Editor of Negotiation Journal.

0748.4526/9610100~005509.50/0 © 1996 Plenum Publishing Corporation Negotiation Journal January 1996 5

very br ief summat ions will assist scholars and librarians in their work, as well as provide a "taste" of a par- ticular article to the negotiation prac- t i t ioner . Abs t rac t s in no way substitute for reading an article, but they should serve as guides to the contents of the work and thus assist the reader in knowing whe the r or not that work is pertinent.

Along these same lines, Negotia- tion Journal w in addition to arti- cles reporting on research, such as that writ ten by Debra Shapiro and J6rn Rognes in this issue - - will reg- ularly feature condensed "transla- tions" of negotiation research that most practi t ioners (to say nothing about many scholars) may neve r have the opportunity to read.

Scholarly journals specializing in management studies, psychology, the law, sociology, economics, communi- cations, and many other fields often f ea tu re a r t i c les tha t r e p o r t on research of interest to the greater negotiat ion community. However, because of the context of a particular journal, that research is frequently overlooked. For example, a family mediator may not regularly read a journal like Administrative Science Quarterly, but that publication could well feature a research r epo r t on styles of negotiat ion that has rele- vance to the mediator's practice. By presenting a pr6cis of the work in Negot ia t ion Journal , we hope to improve the links between the prac- t i t ioner and the academic commu- nity. A talented group of graduate students at universities affiliated with the P rog ram on N e g o t i a t i o n at Harvard Law School is already work- ing on this project, which will begin

with the April 1996 issue. As always, reader suggestions are welcome.

R e g u l a r F e a t u r e s

At this point in time, we anticipate no changes in the major types of arti- cles we publish - - columns, "in the- ory" and "in practice" essays, case studies, research reports, teaching ideas, integrative book reviews, and general news. These categories have worked well in the past, and there does not seem to be any reason to change them.

In general , co lumns are shor t , informal pieces that some contribu- tors regard as "off-the-top-of-my- head" comments about a particular aspect of negotiation practice or the- try. They frequently serve as a spur to readers to consider some of the most vexing questions in the field. In this issue, for example, Sheila Heen's observations about the very different approaches taken by her male and female negotiation students point to issues that are crucial to our under- standing of negotiation process, and of obvious impact on the work of both scholars and professional nego- tiators.

Two art icles in this issue's "In Practice" section offer descriptions of new techniques that are helping to expand negotiat ion theory into n e w areas . L a w r e n c e Susskind, Abram Chayes, and Janet Martinez describe "parallel informal negotia- tion,' a strategy aimed at developing collaborative approaches to interna- t ional negot ia t ion . A par t icu lar ly interesting aspect of their work is that it is taking place among interna- tional negotiators from contexts (the environment and trade) which for-

6 Kolb, Wheeler and Breslln A Difficult Debut

merly had little or no th ing to do with one another.

In the article that follows, Randa Slim and Haro ld H. Saunde r s describe a five-stage unofficial "dia- logue" process and "civil society" strategy that are being used in Tajik- istan, the fo rmer Soviet republ ic w h e r e t housands have died in a bloody, bitter conflict over the last several years. Sadly, the "divided society" of Tajikistan is hardly unique in this war-torn world; thus, the ini- tiatives described by Slim and Saun- de r s have i m p l i c a t i o n s for negotiators in many other locales.

The "in theory" sect ion of this issue includes two very different arti- cles, both of which are linked, how- ever, by their overarching focus on the enhancement of our understand- ing of the theoretical framework that unde r l i e s nego t i a t i on . Michael Watkins and Susan Rosegrant, using a crisply-written descript ion of how the adminis t ra t ion of fo rmer U.S. P re s iden t Geo rge Bush fo rged a worldwide alliance to fight Iraq's Sad- dam Hussein, tell us much about how coalitions can be formed and the role of power in such negotiations. This analysis draws from research based in a number of disciplines, and should likewise prove instructive for negotia- tors in many different arenas.

"Neutral i ty" is a lmost a sacred concept for some mediators. How- ever, as pointed out by Kevin Gib- son, Leigh T h o m p s o n , and Max Bazerman in the nex t ar t icle , its appeal is matched only by its diffi- cult nature. Instead of the goal of neutrality, this trio of authors pro- p o s e s " s y m m e t r i c p r e s c r i p t i v e

advice f an idea that has implications in negot ia t ions ranging f rom the business world to divorce mediation, from labor-management conflict to international relations.

Research results that may be sur- prising to some readers are reported in the following section by Debra L. Shapiro and J6rn Rognes. They stud- ied the techniques used by American and Norweg ian nego t i a to r s , and found that w when push comes to shove - - sometimes the end result of the negotiation is more integrative than might be expected. As usual, the issue concludes with our "news and notes" section, including cap- sule descr ipt ions of recent ly pub- l i shed b o o k s of i n t e r e s t to the negotiation audience.

F u t u r e T o p i c s

Though not included in this issue, several in tegra t ive b o o k review- essays are planned for the future. Among the topics will be: global environmental negotiations, negotia- tions in the workplace of today (and tomorrow), and the impact of cul- t u re and g e n d e r on n e g o t i a t i o n processes.

Works in p repa ra t ion for o the r sections of the Journal include: sev- eral articles exp lor ing the "new" industrial relations; a critique of the alternative dispute resolution move- ment; the ref lec t ions of a college professor w h o has been teaching negotiation for the past quarter cen- tury; an analysis of what we have l e a rned f rom d ivo rce and family mediation research; an exploration of the linkages between internal and external negotiations; a new look at

Negotiation Journal January 1996 7

t he d i f f e r en ces b e t w e e n in te res t s and positions in negotiation; and an outline of the roles third parties can play in the p r e v e n t i o n o f in terna- tional conflict.

As the field cont inues to grow, we we lcome the oppor tuni ty of publish- ing well-written, thought-provoking articles by bo th scholars and practi- t ioners that he lp all o f us to learn m o r e a b o u t t h e way ind iv idua l s ,

organizations, and nations negotiate. Potential contr ibutors ' are advised to read the Journal's Editorial Policy originally wri t ten by Jeff Rubin - - to learn mo re about the kinds of arti- cles we shall be publishing.

Jeff truly is a "hard act to follow." Fortunately, however , he also pro- v ided us wi th f r iendship and guid- ance o v e r the years , and a m o d e l whose standards we aspire to meet .

NOTE

1. Negotiation Journal annually considers approximately 200 article submissions, and pub- lishes between 35 and 40 of that number. Our rejection rate in recent years has ranged from 80 to 83 percent of all submissions received.

Approximately 65 percent of all submissions are sent out for formal review by peers in both the academic world and in the dispute resolution profession.

Members of the Editorial Policy Committee and International Advisory Board of Negotiation Journal are particularly generous with their time mad talent in providing reviews of material sub- mitted for possible publication. In addition, many past contributors and others have served as reviewers. We are most appreciative of the constructive criticism that our reviewers provide, and welcome the opportunity to thank them publicly for their efforts. This publication would not be possble without them.

8 Kolb, Wheeler and Bresltn A Difficult Debut