Research supports the conclusion that certain cultures are more risk averse than others. (Geert
Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values (Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications, 1980)
In deal making, the negotiators’ cultures can affect the willingness of one side to take risks—to divulge
information, try new approaches, and tolerate uncertainties in a proposed course of action. The Japanese, with their
emphasis on requiring large amount of information and their intricate group decision-making process, tend to be risk
averse. Americans, by comparison, are risk takers.