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Introductory article for NCMR’s Special Issue: Negotiation and Conflict Management in Entrepreneurial Ventures and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Andrea Caputo

University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

Correspondence

Andrea Caputo, Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 7TS, UK;

e-mail: [email protected]

doi: 10.1111/ncmr.12168

This article aims to introduce the Special Issue of Negotiation and Conflict Management Research titled

“Negotiation and Conflict Management in Entrepreneurial Ventures and Small Medium Enterprises

(SMEs).” The purpose of this special issue is to provide a stimulus to the research carried out by scholars

in negotiation and conflict management who investigate entrepreneurs and SMEs, and by scholars in

entrepreneurship who investigate conflicts and negotiations.

A few years ago, a consultant wanted to put two of his clients in touch. They were two successful entre-

preneurs and owners of quite large businesses: one in the sport retail sector and the other in the production

of sport clothing. The consultant’s aim was to help the two businesses navigate the economic crisis facing

those markets by negotiating a strategic alliance agreement. He spoke independently to each of the entrepre-

neurs, who well favored the idea and agreed for the consultant to give each other their contact details. Weeks

later, the consultant found out that neither one had called the other. Upon calling them to ask what hap-

pened, they both gave a similar answer: “Do you think I became a successful entrepreneur by making the

first call when I need to negotiate something? It’s the other guy who has to call me so I can have a leverage.”

Although a single case, this practical example is quite familiar to those of us who deal with consulting

entrepreneurs alongside our academic main career. It shows clearly a peculiar take on negotiation from

the point of view of entrepreneurs and depicts quite well how vital negotiations are for entrepreneurs. It

also shows how the dynamics of distributive, competitive bargaining are very well embedded in the idea

of what negotiation is for an entrepreneur. If one talks with entrepreneurs or consultants, asking whether

they believe that negotiating well is one of the key characteristics of an entrepreneur, they would receive

a unanimous verdict: yes, obviously! One would imagine that to such a practical straightforward answer, a similar unanimity would be found in academic research. Yet, that seems not to be the case and the call

for papers for this special issue which aims to gather research, stimulate new theoretical development

and seek the application of new research methods to investigate a pivotal topic for both the negotiation

and conflict management research community and the entrepreneurship research community.

Indeed, researchers from the field of entrepreneurship agree that the creation, success, longevity, and

survival of entrepreneurial ventures are deeply linked to the effectiveness of the many negotiations that

permeate internally (within the team) and externally (with the stakeholders) the business activity.

Moreover, recent empirical and theoretical research has shown how the relevance of hybrid forms of

organizations, new business models that link multiple parties through advanced technologies, and the

increased interest of customers and stakeholders at large about sustainability and responsibility have

widened the boundaries of today’s firms (Caputo, Fiorentino, & Garzella, 2018a). Such enlarged

Negotiation and Conflict Management Research

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© 2019 International Association for Conflict Management and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 101

boundaries make it fundamental for competitive success to develop appropriate managerial capabilities

to manage the boundary resources, not only at the individual level, but also at the organizational level

(Borb�ely & Caputo, 2017). Negotiation and conflict management, particularly in small and medium

enterprises, are seen as fundamental capabilities to develop.

For these reasons, the call for papers for this special issue, which is included in a series of research calls

that are made within the International Association for Conflict Management and the European Academy

of Management, aims to trigger research questions that will shed light on how entrepreneurs deal with

conflicts and how they negotiate.

Indeed, entrepreneurs, as compared to nonentrepreneurs, face conditions of high uncertainty, ambiguity,

time pressure, emotional intensity, and high risk (Beaver & Jennings, 2005; Brouthers, Andriessen, & Nico-

laes, 1998; Liberman-Yaconi, Hooper, & Hutchings, 2010; Woods & Joyce, 2003). Previous research in the

field of entrepreneurship has shown how the entrepreneur is the principal force behind the creation, evolu-

tion, sustainability, and success of SMEs (Sarasvathy & Venkataraman, 2011). Therefore, given the particu-

lar characteristics of entrepreneurs and their role in the business, it is important to understand how

entrepreneurs negotiate and manage conflicts with their internal and external stakeholders.

Among the many topics, the call for papers suggested scholars to focus, for example, on questions such as:

• How entrepreneurs negotiate and the impact of negotiation and conflict management on the busi- ness

• What are the conflict management and negotiation styles most appropriate in SMEs, family busi- nesses and start-ups

• How conflict-related dynamics impact entrepreneurial intention, attitude, and motivation • The role of emotions, trust, and fairness in entrepreneurial negotiation and conflict management • The role of external consultants in conflicts affecting entrepreneurial ventures and SMEs • How intergenerational succession is negotiated and how intergenerational conflicts are managed • Work–family balance conflicts in entrepreneurial ventures and SMEs • The role of negotiation and conflict management in fostering creativity and innovation • The role and use of mediation in entrepreneurial ventures and SMEs

The special issue saw four fitting submissions from several countries (Greece, Iran, Spain, and Korea),

of which three were not successful after several rounds of review. The submissions covered several inter-

esting topics, such as the negative effects of conflict types on entrepreneurial team cohesion, the possible

role of constructive conflict management and negotiations in fostering creativity and innovation in small

and medium enterprises, and how the negotiation style of the entrepreneur could impact the general

management of their business. However, despite the fit of such topics with the call for papers, unfortu-

nately the studies came short in terms of adequate grounding into the existing body of work. For exam-

ple, conflict in entrepreneurial teams (Breugst, Patzelt, & Rathgeber, 2015; Chen, Chang, & Chang, 2017)

or their methodology was not rigorous enough in terms of research design, data collection, or data analy-

sis.

The successful article included in the special issue, by Alvarado, Armadans and Parada (2019), titled

“Tracing the roots of Constructive Conflict Management in family firms,” reviews the current research

on conflict management and family firms and suggests theoretical propositions about the influence of

familiness in constructive conflict management in family firms. Alvarado et al. (2019) base their study

on how the overlap between family and business systems creates a particular bundle of resources. They

explain how these specific resources, that is, the familiness, may determine how family firms positively or

negatively manage their conflicts. Alvarado et al. (2019) propose that specific levels of structural, cogni-

tive, and relational dimensions of familiness configure a specific arrangement of resources, conceptual-

ized as collaborative familiness, which enhances constructive conflict.

The study of Alvarado et al. (2019) is consistent with recent reviews of the literature in conflict man-

agement and family business (Caputo, Marzi, Pellegrini, & Rialti, 2018b), which shows how family

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Negotiation and Conflict Management in SMEs Caputo

conflicts and work–family balance issues received a lot of attention in literature. Yet, studies in conflict management still seem to miss a thorough investigation of conflict in family businesses. Alvarado et al.

(2019) contribute to this call for future studies in helping scholars to unpack the dynamics of conflicts in

family businesses.

Even though scholars have given growing attention to topics of conflict management and negotiation

in family firms (Caputo & Zarone, 2019; Caputo et al., 2018b; Kellermanns & Eddleston, 2007) and in

entrepreneurial teams (Breugst et al., 2015; Chen et al., 2017), the analysis of how entrepreneurs negoti-

ate and how conflict impacts entrepreneurial ventures and SMEs as opposed to larger businesses still has

many topics to investigate.

For example, in their book “Entrepreneurial Negotiation: Understanding and Managing the Relation-

ships That Determine Your Entrepreneurial Success,” Dinnar and Susskind (2018) explain the eight most

common negotiation mistakes that entrepreneurs make in addressing the heightened emotion, uncer-

tainty, complexity, and relationship-building intensity of entrepreneurial negotiation. Although these

mistakes have been studied in other areas from negotiation scholars, through a series of interviews, the

authors provide an interpretation of how and why these errors occur in the entrepreneurial context.

Along with the many questions posed by the original call for papers of this special issue, which still

remain unanswered, future research could contribute to a deeper understanding of what entrepreneurial

negotiation and conflict management are, and how the entrepreneurial context differs from the business

and managerial contexts that have been widely investigated. Of particular interest could be the examina-

tion of the use and characteristics of mediation in SMEs and in family firms, or how the family–work dynamics affect the entrepreneurs’ well-being. The investigation of how cognition, emotion, and passion

impact negotiation within SMEs and family firms could also provide a further avenue for research.

To answer such calls, it will be important that scholars from apparently different fields of research

acknowledge each other’s existence and take advantage of the possible benefit of cross-fertilization from

other fields.

References

Alvarado, C., Armadans, I., & Parada, M. J. (2019). Tracing the roots of constructive conflict management in fam-

ily firms. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/ncmr.12164

Beaver, G., & Jennings, P. (2005). Competitive advantage and entrepreneurial power: The dark side of

entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 12(1), 9–23. https://doi.org/10.1108/ 14626000510579617

Borb�ely, A., & Caputo, A. (2017). Approaching negotiation at the organizational level. Negotiation and Conflict

Management Research, 10, 306–323. https://doi.org/10.1111/ncmr.12106 Breugst, N., Patzelt, H., & Rathgeber, P. (2015). How should we divide the pie? Equity distribution and its impact

on entrepreneurial teams. Journal of Business Venturing, 30(1), 66–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2014. 07.006

Brouthers, K. D., Andriessen, F., & Nicolaes, I. (1998). Driving blind: Strategic decisionmaking in small compa-

nies. Long Range Planning, 31(1), 130–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0024-6301(97)00099-X Caputo, A., Fiorentino, R., & Garzella, S. (2018a). From the boundaries of management to the management of

boundaries: Business processes, capabilities and negotiations. Business Process Management Journal, 25, 391– 413. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-11-2017-0334

Caputo, A., Marzi, G., Pellegrini, M. M., & Rialti, R. (2018b). Conflict management in family businesses: A biblio-

metric analysis and systematic literature review. International Journal of Conflict Management, 29, 519–542. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-02-2018-0027

Caputo, A., & Zarone, V. (2019). Uscio e Bottega: An exploratory study on conflict management and negotiation

during family business succession in Tuscany. World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable

Development, 15, 202.

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Caputo Negotiation and Conflict Management in SMEs

Chen, M.-H., Chang, Y.-Y., & Chang, Y.-C. (2017). The trinity of entrepreneurial team dynamics: Cognition, con-

flicts and cohesion. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 23, 934–951. https://doi.org/ 10.1108/IJEBR-07-2016-0213

Dinnar, S., & Susskind, L. (2018). Entrepreneurial negotiation: Understanding and managing the relationships that

determine your entrepreneurial success. New York, NY: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92543-1

Kellermanns, F. W., & Eddleston, K. A. (2007). A family perspective on when conflict benefits family firm perfor-

mance. Journal of Business Research, 60, 1048–1057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.12.018 Liberman-Yaconi, L., Hooper, T., & Hutchings, K. (2010). Toward a model of understanding strategic decision-

making in micro-firms: Exploring the Australian information technology sector. Journal of Small Business Man-

agement, 48(1), 70–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-627X.2009.00287.x Sarasvathy, S. D., & Venkataraman, S. (2011). Entrepreneurship as method: Open questions for an entrepreneur-

ial future. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(1), 113–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010. 00425.x

Woods, A., & Joyce, P. (2003). Owner-managers and the practice of strategic management. International Small

Business Journal, 21(2), 181–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242603021002003

Andrea Caputo is Reader in Strategy & Entrepreneurship at the University of Lincoln (UK), where he

co-founded the UNESCO Chair in Responsible Foresight for Sustainable Development and the Lincoln

Innovation in Family Enterprises (LIFE) Observatory. He received his PhD in Management from the

University of Rome “Tor Vergata” (Italy). He has also held visiting positions at several universities, like

University of Queensland, George Washington University, University of Malta, Alicante, Macerata, and

Naples Parthenope. His main research expertise is related to entrepreneurship, strategic management,

negotiation, and decision-making. He has authored more than 40 international publications and pre-

sented at leading conferences. He is editor of the book series “Entrepreneurial Behaviour” by Emerald,

and the author of the book “Strategic Corporate Negotiations,” published by Palgrave.

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