Frontiers in Business, Economics and Management
ISSN: 2766-824X | Vol. 16, No. 1, 2024
Long Guo * School of Economics and Management, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, China

Abstract #

In the protracted business negotiations will often encounter such a situation, the negotiations into a substantive meaning of the consultation stage, the negotiating parties due to the temporary irreconcilable contradictions and the formation of the confrontation seems to have reached the point where the two sides can no longer concessions, and each other to form a serious disagreement and confrontation, the negotiations can not be carried out, the negotiation of such a situation that is referred to as the negotiation of impasse, resulting in situations such as mutual suspicion, differences of opinion, heated arguments, which is more common in the fight for the interests of the competition. This kind of negotiation is called “negotiation impasse”, resulting in such situations as mutual suspicion, differences of opinion, heated arguments, which is more common in the fight for the
interests of the competition. However, if these issues are not handled properly, the negotiating parties are unable to shorten the distance between them, which will directly hinder the negotiation work. This article mainly focuses on the reasons for the formation of deadlock, the principle of avoiding deadlock, and the methods and techniques of resolving deadlock.

Keywords: Business negotiations, Impasse, Strategies, Resolution.

1. Introduction #

In China’s increasingly fierce market competition now, the internal and external development environment faced by various industries is more complex and changeable, if you want to maximize the economic benefits in the unpredictable supply and demand market, you should make full use of the way of business negotiation, in the field of enterprise purchasing to create more economic value, on the basis of reducing the cost of purchasing, to ensure that the procurement work of scientific and efficient implementation, to lay the foundation for the maximization of the economic benefits of the enterprise. Foundation [1]. In business activities, no negotiation is an overnight success, most of the negotiations will appear deadlock. How to break the deadlock has become a constant topic. The key to resolve the impasse is to carefully analyse the reasons for the impasse, and then take appropriate and reasonable strategies [2]. For the business negotiation impasse, mainly due to the negotiating parties did not reach a deal conditions, so as to fall into a stalemate. In business negotiation activities, only to solve the negotiation impasse, can ensure the success of subsequent business negotiations [3]. Impasse is a business negotiation in a “hurdle”. How many people return without success, from this hurdle back to the original place, happy to come, but returned in displeasure. But only through this hurdle is a clever negotiator. The two sides to turn the war into peace, avoid small differences and seek common ground, only to find a common point of acceptance, in order to complete the business co-operation, to achieve satisfactory results.

2. Causes of the Impasse in the Negotiations #

In order to effectively deal with negotiation deadlocks, it is important to first understand and analyse the reasons for the deadlock in order to prevent it from happening.

2.1. Unequal Role Definition #

In business negotiations, some people often rely on their own economic strength or personal competitive character, as well as the results of psychological tactics to the other side of the conspiracy and trickery, set up traps, confuse the other party to achieve equal conditions under the difficult to achieve the negotiation goals. In order to prevent its success, the other party needs to spend a lot of energy to crack the trap, some
negotiators may produce a sense of being tricked, refused to talk in anger, the formation of an impasse.

2.2. Lack of Separation of Personnel #

Due to one side of the negotiators on the other side of the negotiators have prejudice, or even antipathy and the formation of deadlock. Because of this, in the negotiation process, to grasp their own words and deeds, words and deeds are easy to hurt the feelings of the other party or damage the
personality of the other party, so that the formation of the impasse is very difficult to deal with. Such as “I know you will say next…”, or “You’re such an idiot, or “your trick is not necessarily how clever”, “do not you think you speak too long?” and so on are not conducive to the language of negotiation. According to some experienced negotiators, many negotiators are more concerned with saving face than with protecting the company’s interests. If a party in the negotiation feels that the loss of face, he will fight back to save face, even at the expense of withdrawing from the
negotiation. Many shrewd business negotiators: the actual negotiation work, pay close attention to the content of the negotiations and the negotiators personal separation, the negotiation process should be done on the matter not to the person.

2.3. Barriers to Communication of Information #

Failure to listen to the content of the speech or failure to understand the content of the other party’s statement can easily put the other party into a negotiation impasse. Listening party absent-minded or contempt for the other party, failed to listen to the other party’s statement; or due to the external environment of the noise interference and other physical factors caused by the other party’s speech did not hear the content of the other party’s speech, it is easy to make the other party embarrassed, thus forming an impasse. Inadequate or incorrect understanding in the actual negotiation process is often due to differences in professional knowledge, business level, and comprehensive education level involved in the
negotiation; or due to the different cultural backgrounds of the negotiating parties, the elaboration or understanding of a
certain issue is different, and if there is a lack of communication, it is also easy to produce disagreements.

2.4. Other #

Lack of necessary strategies and techniques, changes in the external environment, soft-pedalling delays, quality of personnel Inferiority, etc., also tends to bring negotiations to a standstill.

3. Principles for Avoiding Deadlock #

Business negotiation is a relatively complex negotiation process, not only to clarify and maintain their own rights and interests, but also to consider the economic interests of the other party[4]. Communication in business negotiation is divided into verbal and non-verbal, and good communication
is an important guarantee for the success of business negotiation. In business negotiation, negotiators can take bilateral strategy, mutually beneficial and reciprocal strategy and favourable to the other party strategy[5]. In order to reach an agreement in a mutually beneficial state, an impasse should
be avoided. The most effective way to deal with negotiation impasse is to nip the impasse-forming factors in the bud. Therefore, in order to avoid the formation of impasse, negotiators should adopt the following attitudes during the
negotiation process.

3.1. Calmness of Manner and Moderation of Language #

There are all sorts of objections in negotiations, including those that are unreasonable. In this case, the negotiators must be careful not to refute the other party’s opinion in an indignant tone. From a psychological point of view, business negotiations between the supply and demand decisions are
subject to reason and emotional control, if the negotiating parties for certain issues in the quarrel or cynical, even if one side of the opinion of the winning is difficult to make the opponent happy and convincing.

3.2. Equality and Mutual Benefit #

Although from the scale and economic strength, the negotiating parties have size, strength and weakness of the difference, but from the legal status, its rights and obligations should be equal. Bullying, detrimental to their own, will not establish good public relations; and in front of powerful
negotiating rivals in fear, do not dare to defend their reasonable interests, concessions, can only make the opponents think that you are weak, and put forward more demanding conditions. For example, a joint venture in China by the foreign side of the equipment purchased on behalf of the foreign party, the foreign party quoted 110 U.S. dollars, and we learned through the inquiry that the equipment is worth only 700,000 U.S. dollars, for fear that foreigners do not co-operate and dare not reasonably, can be said to be mute, it is difficult to say. Therefore, in the negotiation, the negotiator should maintain a calm and sincere mentality, and reach an agreement on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

4. Ways to Avoid Deadlock #

4.1. Separating People from Problems #

The negotiator is first of all human negotiation, in fact, is the communication process between people. Therefore, a basic fact is: communication with you is not the other side of the “abstract representative”, but living people. Human beings have emotions, needs and opinions. However, this human
dimension of negotiation is sometimes difficult to predict. If it is not difficult to quickly detect and properly deal with the human dimension of the other party’s reaction, it can be fatal to the negotiation. Deal with the relationship of interests, every negotiator wants to reach an agreement that meets his own substantive interests, which is his motivation for negotiation. In addition to this, there are relational interests between the negotiator
and the other party. The businessman wants to make a profit on the sale as well as to turn the customer into a long-term subscriber. The negotiator at least wants to maintain a working relationship in which he can accept an agreement if it satisfies the interests of both parties. However, these two
aspects often become entangled in actual negotiations, and many people tend to confuse the person with the issue. Something may be said that refers only to the issue, but it sounds like an attack on the individual.

4.2. Treating Each Other As Equals #

4.2.1. Think differently #

People always tend to look at what they want to look at, and in a mass of information they choose only that which confirms their previous ideas and ignore or distort that which does not conform to their ideas. It is important that all parties in a negotiation do not attribute the good to their side and
leave the bad to the other side.

4.2.2. Don’t blame others #

People are prone to holding each other accountable for their problems. “Your company is never responsible. Every time you overhaul the generator for our plant. It’s always a muddle and it breaks down again.” Blaming others is an easy form for people to take, especially when they feel that the other person is indeed responsible. But even when blame is warranted, it can have the opposite effect. The other person will take defensive measures against everything you say when you attack them; they either refuse to listen to you. They either refuse to listen to you, or they sneer back, but with a different tone of voice, the effect is very different: “That generator you were servicing has broken down again. It’s broken down three times this month, and the first time it broke down, it was down for a whole week. Our factory needs generators that run continuously, and I was hoping you could tell us how we can minimise our losses when the generator is down. Should we switch to a different repair company, file a lawsuit against the
manufacturer or do something else?”

5. Skills to Break the Deadlock #

Negotiators should endeavour to avoid deadlocks, and if the above methods of dealing with potential deadlocks are ineffective, the potential deadlocks will develop into real deadlocks. At this point, they should face the reality and take effective ways to break the deadlock so that the negotiation can continue.

5.1. Recess Buffer #

When both sides of the negotiations are exhausted; in the negotiations on a certain issue is no progress, it can be proposed to temporarily adjourn the meeting, in order to ease the atmosphere, while the two sides can take this opportunity to recuperate, ready to continue the negotiations in a good
mood. Generally, the proposal to adjourn the meeting will be positively responded to by the other side. A break is not only good for your own side, but also for the other side, which is very useful for joint co-operation.

5.2. Authoritative Influence #

When the negotiations encountered a deadlock, you can invite the higher status of the leadership to attend, indicating that the handling of the deadlock of the issue of concern and attention; or the use of the star effect, to the other side of the introduction of the use of the product of well-known social figures in their favour of their remarks. The other party may “not look at the face of the Buddha”, give up the original higher requirements. For example, Hunan, a distillery production of “vodka” to the U.S. market, they hired a U.S.sales expert, the expert let the Hunan distillery out of the first batch of 1,000 bottles of alcohol into a number. Then on the eve of Christmas prepared a beautiful postcard, were sent to
more than 100 famous American entrepreneurs, and wrote “I factory produced a batch of new wine, ready to number XX to XX left you, if you want, please reply” holiday eve to receive the postcard across the ocean, they were overjoyed, naturally they have They were so happy to receive postcards
from across the ocean on the eve of the holiday that they naturally wrote back and sent money to buy them. Then, the U.S. sales expert took 100 first-class entrepreneurs back to the wholesaler to find the negotiations, the results of a talk that is, a great success.

5.3. Changing the Environment #

Formal negotiation places are prone to bring a serious atmosphere. When the two sides of the negotiation are not on speaking terms, such an environment will easily give rise to a depressing and dreary feeling. When encountering such a situation, as the host Can first propose to put aside the issue that has been arguing with each other, and organise some relaxing activities for both sides, such as sightseeing tours, attending banquets,
sports and recreation, and so on. In a relaxed and happy environment, the two sides can continue to exchange views on some of the stalemate in an informal manner, serious discussions and negotiations in a relaxed and lively atmosphere. As the other party to the negotiations, if conditions permit, you can invite the other party to their own homes to play, in order to achieve the purpose of the exchange of negotiation sites.

6. Conclusions #

Practice has shown that deadlock in negotiations is an objective reality. Neither can be completely avoided nor panic. As long as a careful and detailed analysis of the root cause of the impasse, and then take the right medicine to take flexible and targeted measures to resolve the situation, you can turn
the danger into success. Once the impasse is broken, the negotiations will be a success.

References #

[1] Lv Xiaobo. Exploring how to create procurement benefits for enterprises in business negotiation work. Quality and Market, 2022(19):133-135.
[2] Lu Xiaohui. Strategies for resolving impasse in business negotiation. Jiangsu business theory, 2010(09):46-48.
[3] Guo Tianxing. Discussion on the Principles and Techniques of Dealing with Impasse in Business Negotiations. China Collective Economy, 2020(16):76-77.
[4] Huang Haixia. Introduction to the skills and basic connotation of business negotiation. Commercial Observation, 2022(21):81-84.
[5] SHEN Qi, BUHAILI ZHUGULI, RUAN Qiuheng. An analysis of communication and persuasion skills in business negotiation. International Public Relations, 2022(19):77-79