As we head into the new millennium, we are witnessing a growing and heightened interest among organizational scholars on the topics of conflict and negotiation. New research questions are being identified, while new theory is being applied to "old" questions. The result is exciting research that has organizational and social relevance. The papers in this volume, which grew out of the eighth biannual Conference on Negotiation in Organizations, are representative of the provocative and "cutting edge" theory and research emerging in the area of conflict and negotiation.

This fifth volume in the series discusses such topics as the effects of relationships and context among relative equals, paranoia and distrust in organizations, and perspective competition in a collaborative context.

This volume of Research on Negotiation in Organizations focuses on three new and emerging areas in the domain of negotiation and conflict within organizations. In the first section, the problem of "deviance" within organizations is approached from a conflict and justice perspective. Earlier research attention to these issues tended to treat deviance largely as a problem created by selected individuals who did not adapt to the organization, rather than as a systemic problem created by certain organizational conditions. By seeing deviant behavior in organizations as a possible response to unfair treatment, and by employing conflict management concepts to explain how individuals respond to organizational constraints and pressures, the papers in this section extend the work on conflict and justice to a new, rich, and largely unexplored domain.

The second section of this volume addresses an increasingly important challenge in our world - the effective management of environmental conflict; the authors demonstrate factors contributing to the intractability of environmental disputes, and the importance of perceptions of fairness in attaining conflict resolution.

The third and final section offers diverse but important papers in the application of conflict and negotiation to the international environment, including an examination of conflict in a Chinese cultural context, and commentary on the role of power differences in conflict management and negotiation.

Introduction and Theoretical Context S. B Sitkin & R. J. Bies / Preface M. G. Yudof // I. Introduction and Theoretical Context // 1. Law and Organizations W. R. Scott / 2. The Legalization of Organizations: A Multi-Theoretical Perspective S. B Sitkin & R. J. Bies // II. Legalistic Procedures // 3. Cops and Auditors: The Rhetoric of Records J. Van Maanen & B. T. Pentland / 4. Contracting Without Contracts: How the Japanese Manage Organizational Transactions M. J. Smitka / 5. Effects of Legal Context on Decision Making Under Ambiguity M. S. Feldman & A. J. Levy // III. Legalistic Criteria in Decision Making // 6. Stigma as a Determinant of Legalization N. L. Roth, S. B Sitkin & A. House / 7. The Threat of Legal Liability and Managerial Decision Making: Regulation of Reproductive Health in the Workplace D. M. Randall & D. D. Baker / 8. Law, Privacy, and Organizations: The Corporate Obsession to Know Versus the Individual Right Not to Be Known M. J. Culnan, H. J. Smith & R. J. Bies / 9. The Changing Legal Environment: A Review and Recommendations for Today's Corporate Directors I. F. Kesner & J. B. Kaufman // IV. Legalistic Rhetoric // 10. Communication Under Conditions of Litigation Risk: A Grounded Theory of Plausible Deniability in the Iran-Contra Affair L. D. Browning & R. Folger / 11. The Consequences of Language: A Metaphorical Look at the Legalization of Organizations R. K. Stutman & L. L. Putnam / 12. Reducing the Litigious Mentality by Increasing Employees' Desire to Communicate Grievances D. L. Shapiro & D. M. Kolb // V. Reflections on the Legalistic Organization // 13. The Costs of Legalization: The Hidden Dangers of Increasingly Formalized Control J. Pfeffer / 14. Litigation Mentality and Organizational Learning C. Argyris / Index ABRIDGED CONTENTS: I. Introduction and Theoretical Context / II. Legalistic Procedures / III. Legalistic Criteria in Decision Making / IV. Legalistic Rhetoric / V. Reflections on the Legalistic Organization CONTRIBUTORS: M. G. Yudof, W. R. Scott, S. B Sitkin, R. J. Bies, J. Van Maanen, B. T. Pentland, M. J. Smitka, M. S. Feldman, A. J. Levy, N. L. Roth, A. House, D. M. Randall, D. D. Baker, M. J. Culnan, H. J. Smith, I. F. Kesner, J. B. Kaufman, L. D. Browning, R. Folger, R. K. Stutman, L. L. Putnam, D. L. Shapiro, D. M. Kolb, J. Pfeffer, C. Argyris

As we head into the new millennium, we are witnessing a growing and heightened interest among organizational scholars on the topics of conflict and negotiation. New research questions are being identified, while new theory is being applied to "old" questions. The result is exciting research that has organizational and social relevance. The papers in this volume, which grew out of the eighth biannual Conference on Negotiation in Organizations, are representative of the provocative and "cutting edge" theory and research emerging in the area of conflict and negotiation.

Introduction and Theoretical Context S. B Sitkin & R. J. Bies / Preface M. G. Yudof // I. Introduction and Theoretical Context // 1. Law and Organizations W. R. Scott / 2. The Legalization of Organizations: A Multi-Theoretical Perspective S. B Sitkin & R. J. Bies // II. Legalistic Procedures // 3. Cops and Auditors: The Rhetoric of Records J. Van Maanen & B. T. Pentland / 4. Contracting Without Contracts: How the Japanese Manage Organizational Transactions M. J. Smitka / 5. Effects of Legal Context on Decision Making Under Ambiguity M. S. Feldman & A. J. Levy // III. Legalistic Criteria in Decision Making // 6. Stigma as a Determinant of Legalization N. L. Roth, S. B Sitkin & A. House / 7. The Threat of Legal Liability and Managerial Decision Making: Regulation of Reproductive Health in the Workplace D. M. Randall & D. D. Baker / 8. Law, Privacy, and Organizations: The Corporate Obsession to Know Versus the Individual Right Not to Be Known M. J. Culnan, H. J. Smith & R. J. Bies / 9. The Changing Legal Environment: A Review and Recommendations for Today's Corporate Directors I. F. Kesner & J. B. Kaufman // IV. Legalistic Rhetoric // 10. Communication Under Conditions of Litigation Risk: A Grounded Theory of Plausible Deniability in the Iran-Contra Affair L. D. Browning & R. Folger / 11. The Consequences of Language: A Metaphorical Look at the Legalization of Organizations R. K. Stutman & L. L. Putnam / 12. Reducing the Litigious Mentality by Increasing Employees' Desire to Communicate Grievances D. L. Shapiro & D. M. Kolb // V. Reflections on the Legalistic Organization // 13. The Costs of Legalization: The Hidden Dangers of Increasingly Formalized Control J. Pfeffer / 14. Litigation Mentality and Organizational Learning C. Argyris / Index ABRIDGED CONTENTS: I. Introduction and Theoretical Context / II. Legalistic Procedures / III. Legalistic Criteria in Decision Making / IV. Legalistic Rhetoric / V. Reflections on the Legalistic Organization CONTRIBUTORS: M. G. Yudof, W. R. Scott, S. B Sitkin, R. J. Bies, J. Van Maanen, B. T. Pentland, M. J. Smitka, M. S. Feldman, A. J. Levy, N. L. Roth, A. House, D. M. Randall, D. D. Baker, M. J. Culnan, H. J. Smith, I. F. Kesner, J. B. Kaufman, L. D. Browning, R. Folger, R. K. Stutman, L. L. Putnam, D. L. Shapiro, D. M. Kolb, J. Pfeffer, C. Argyris