| In a global market, business leaders and managers face challenges not necessarily encountered in their home countries (Dhanaraj & Khanna, 2011). Challenges may include management styles, leadership qualities, cultural viewpoints, and the environment. It is essential that the leadership of today's business organizations is aware of and can overcome challenges specific to national markets (Griffin, 2002). The negotiation experiences of American business leaders across cultures involved relevant challenges that called for attention among business scholars and organization experts. The struggle of American business leaders to reach profitable agreements in China remained a relevant topic in the literature of Western-Chinese business relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine competencies relevant to negotiation based on organizational perspectives through the concept of mental models (Weiss, 2006). The research design of this study was a qualitative design through a phenomenological strategy of inquiry (Creswell, 2009). The qualitative approach was based on a systemic approach to analyze data collected using a hermeneutic mode of reflection. In this mode of reflection, the researcher entered both immersion and incubation phases to understand participants' experiences and articulate their views (Bradfield, 2013). The significance of this study includes identifying appropriate management and leadership competencies for many American business leaders to succeed in China. Results in this study aligned with findings in the literature relevant to both the phenomenon of negotiation and to the conceptual framework. Competencies were grouped into three categories: Perspective, process, and strategy.;Keywords: Mental models, Integrative pie and Fixed pie, Cross-border Competency, Global Leadership, American-Chinese Business Negotiation, International Business Negotiation. |
