@ Face Value? Nonverbal Communication & Trust Development in Online Video-Based Mediation

International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution, 1(2), 103-124 (2014)

37 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2014 Last revised: 30 Nov 2019

See all articles by Noam Ebner

Noam Ebner

Creighton University Heider College of Business

Jeff Thompson

Lipscomb University - Institute for Conflict Management

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

Mediation is a process wherein a third party, or mediator, attempts to assist two conflicting parties in dealing with their dispute. Research has identified party trust in the mediator as a key element required for mediator effectiveness. In online video-based mediation, the addition of technology to the mix poses both challenges and opportunities to the capacity of the mediator to build trust with the parties through nonverbal communication. While authors researching the field of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) have often focused on trust, their work has typically targeted text-based processes. As ODR embraces video-based processes, nonverbal communication becomes more salient. Nonverbal communication research has identified examples of specific actions that can contribute to trust. This paper combines that research with current scholarship on trust in mediation and on nonverbal communication in mediation, to map out the landscape mediators face while seeking to build trust through nonverbal communication in online video-based mediation. Suggestions for future research and implications for practice are noted, holding relevance to researchers and practitioners in any field in which trust, nonverbal communication and technology converge.

Keywords: Online Dispute Resolution, ODR, ADR, Negotiation, Mediation, Trust, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Video, synchronous, communication, non-verbal, nonverbal, NVC, body language, visual cues

Suggested Citation

Ebner, Noam and Thompson, Jeff, @ Face Value? Nonverbal Communication & Trust Development in Online Video-Based Mediation (2014). International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution, 1(2), 103-124 (2014), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2395857

Noam Ebner (Contact Author)

Creighton University Heider College of Business ( email )

2500 California Plaza
Omaha, NE 68178
United States

Jeff Thompson

Lipscomb University - Institute for Conflict Management ( email )

Nashville, TN
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
1,611
Abstract Views
7,959
Rank
20,912
PlumX Metrics