Researchers have conceptualized the problem-solving approach to include cooperation between negotiators in order to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. The observed cooperation between parties embodies the concept of positive reciprocity where negotiators match the cooperative bargaining strategy of their counterparts. Using this premise, the current study investigates reciprocity through the relationship between negotiators' perceptions of their counterpart's cooperative behaviors and their own reported behaviors. The mitigating effect of individualism-collectivism on the above relationship is also explored. The findings provide empirical evidence that negotiators' perceptions of their counterpart's cooperative behaviors are positively related to their own strategy. This relationship was consistently supported across five groups of business negotiators: Canadian Anglophone, Greek, Mexican, Filipino, and American. However, this positive reciprocal relationship is negated when the negotiator comes from an individualistic-type culture.

Equity sensitivity concerns perceptions of what is or is not equitable. Previous studies have shown that equity sensitivity is associated with one's relationship orientation. Relationships are also influenced by personality variables. As both personality and equity sensitivity influence relationships, equity sensitivity and personality may be correlated also; so, this study examined that possibility. The relations of equity sensitivity with 3 personality variables were explored across three culturally different samples. This allowed validation across cultures of the proposed equity-personality relationship which has traditionally been assessed in a U.S. setting. In general, personality-equity sensitivity relationship was not supported across the samples.