2.4. Moves
Positioning, defined as the vantage point one takes through which one sees the world (Davis and Harre 1990: 46), underpins moves in negotiation, hence the need to discuss positioning in this section. Positioning can be seen as part of the sociocognitive process similar to frames or point of view. However, different from frames, it focuses on constructing a perspective through interactions
or interactional roles involving the other party (Putnam and Jones 1982; Spencer- Oatey 2000). Through this interaction, location is created for mediating social relations and actions such as positioning credibility for one’s firm and positioning a bottom-line price as attractive to the other party.
The term “move” was first introduced by Bellack et al. (1966) to study classroom discourse as a unit of interaction based on Wittgenstein’s (1953) game theory. Later Goffman (1969) applied move to social interaction, an approach which is more relevant to this paper. According to Goffman (1969), a move is a course of action which involves real consequences, which offers some insight into its general meaning. This paper further defines moves as significant moments for positioning oneself in a negotiation, such as advocating one’s credibility and needs. For example, commonly used moves in negotiations include making threats and appealing for sympathy. This definition of moves differs
from Goffman’s. It relates moves to negotiation positioning rather than focusing on when to make a move and take a turn. One conversational turn can involve more than one move since one can respond to an existing move while initiating a new move at the same time. A move can also be composed of more than one turn (e.g., using several turns to express one move of establishing
one’s credibility).