Interculturality in online dispute resolution

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

11-2022

Abstract

The mediation process has been rapidly evolving to adapt to the virtual environment, resulting in the creation of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) systems that have increasingly diverged from in-person dispute resolution processes. Despite these developments, intercultural mediation research has implicitly assumed the use of face-to-face communication. This chapter discusses the implications of the interface of the virtual environment—known as the fourth party culture—with the cultural preferences of the mediator and the disputants. It highlights the uncertainty concerning how individuals adjust their negotiation behavior in response to the fourth party. To add further complexity, culture is a major variable affecting individuals’ adaptation of their behavior to the online environment. Nevertheless, the jury is still out as to whether the conventional intercultural differences will continue to be reflected in the online setting. In light of this uncertainty, the online mediator cannot generalize on how all disputants will behave in the online setting or assume that conventional cultural preferences will continue to be manifested in the virtual environment. Designers of ODR systems will also benefit from greater awareness of cultural variations in online behavior.

Keywords

Online Dispute Resolution, online mediation, fourth party, computer-mediated communication, videoconferencing

Discipline

Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | Law and Society

Research Areas

Dispute Resolution

Publication

Routledge Handbook of Intercultural Mediation

Editor

Dominic Bosch

First Page

67

Last Page

76

ISBN

9781003227441

Identifier

10.4324/9781003227441-8

Publisher

Routledge

City or Country

New York

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003227441-8

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