Competition vs. Collaboration in Business Negotiations: The Prevailing Bargaining Practices in West African Marketplaces

Traditionally, commercial transactions take place in West Africa on marketplaces that sometimes extend over hectares. Vendors rent stands or display their stalls expecting to attract buyers. But how are exchanges negotiated? To address this concern, we looked at the existing literature in this area. The literature review revealed that research on this subject has not covered all West African countries. While research concerning for example, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal exists, the literature review did not reveal any such study concerning the Republic of Benin and its neighbor of the west, Togo.

This thesis aims to fill this void somewhat by focusing on the bargaining practices prevailing in these two countries. Our research revealed that the Republic of Benin is characterized by a unique mode of bargaining, where the seller announces a price equivalent to double the value of his product. It is then up to the buyer to use the bargaining techniques to which she was introduced at a young age by her mother. A skillful bargainer would be able to reduce the starting price by half, after long minutes of negotiation. Our research also allows us to state that all market participants recognize that this practice constitutes a waste of time for all parties, even though some traders insist on this method, which allows them to take advantage of buyers, who do not master this style of haggling. How can we change this centuries-old practice that prevails in Benin? This thesis offers some reflection paths