Abstract
As the use of e-communication proliferates, more and more types and subtypes of relationships are taking place online. Within the general framework of this book, this chapter focuses on one specific type of relationship: the relationship between people negotiating online via the communication channels offered by information technology. As the global market expands and business and personal relationships are increasingly taking place online, it is common to conduct negotiation processes in the online venue. This chapter focuses on the challenges to inter-party trust in e-negotiation, and on means for overcoming these challenges. It explains the critical role trust plays in negotiation and portrays the ways in which the communication medium through which a negotiation is conducted affects the dynamics of trust-building and trust-breaking. The author lists eight major obstacles to trust formation in e-negotiation and suggests methods not only for avoiding or defusing trust-breaking situations, but for engaging in proactive trust-building.