Mediating and Moderating Effect of Tension on Withdrawal-Commitment Relationship in Construction Dispute Negotiation

Abstract

Negotiation is the most cost-effective way to resolve a construction dispute. The success or failure of a negotiation depends on the commitment of the negotiators for a settlement. Withdrawal refers to a situation in which a construction negotiator loses the interest to continue with a negotiation. A withdrawing negotiator has the propensity to abandon a negotiation. It is proposed that withdrawal and commitment in negotiation are linked. The higher the commitment of the negotiators, the greater the chance a negotiated settlement can be achieved. This withdrawal-commitment relationship is further influenced by tension that the negotiators face. Feeling tense or relaxed has a bearing on the cognitive reasoning of a negotiator. The roles and impact of tension on the withdrawal-commitment relationship are investigated in this study. Two hypotheses have been developed: (1) tension mediates the withdrawal-commitment relationship, and (2) tension moderates the withdrawal-commitment relationship. A certain level of tension helps negotiators stay focused on the disputing issues and engenders commitment. With data collected from experienced construction dispute negotiators, regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. Tensioned negotiators are generally more committed to a negotiated settlement than their low-tensioned counterparts. However, if the withdrawing tendency reaches its threshold value, the loss of commitment of high-tensioned negotiators is much quicker than their low-tensioned counterparts. This reminds managers that tension can mobilize human resources to the betterment of a negotiated settlement, but too much tension can raise the state of withdrawal of the negotiators and lower commitment. In this regard, management may adjust the tension level by varying the settlement targets and by changing the memberships of the negotiation team.