Toward Understanding Nigerian Negotiating Style

Literature on international business negotiations, particularly that which focuses on cultural negotiating styles, largely ignores Nigeria. Nigeria is poised to escape poverty, achieve sustained growth, and make rapid gains in living standards. As globalization, and thereby, economic interdependence continues to grow, collaborative agreements between companies in Nigeria and those in the U.S. will likely increase. A necessary precondition to the development of such agreements is the successful cross-cultural negotiation of the terms for their establishment. In this paper, the authors: (1) provide an emic, fine-grained, description of the predominant Nigerian international business negotiating style; (2) argue for a more accurate, up-to-date, framework to capture Nigerian negotiating tendencies; and (3) develop research propositions. A framework of ten African value orientations informs this agenda. The interpretation is guided by an integrative review of different theoretical perspectives, empirical research and observations of Nigerian academics and practitioners.