TY - JOUR

T1 - Creativity in Court-Connected Mediation: Myth or Reality?

T2 - Myth or Reality?

AU - Adrian, Lin

AU - Mykland, Solfrid

PY - 2014/10

Y1 - 2014/10

N2 - In this study, we examined creativity in court-connected mediation. We analyzed 129 mediated agreements from civil cases in Norway and Denmark and compared the outcomes with the parties' original claims to determine whether the agreement addressed only the disputants' demands or contained other elements. If the mediated agreements contained elements in addition to the original claims, we considered them to be “creative.” We devised a creativity scale and found that approximately two thirds of the cases contained creative elements and one quarter of them contained more than five creative elements.We then sought to determine which aspects of the mediation promoted creativity by looking at a variety of mediation characteristics (length of mediation, characteristics of the parties, etc.). We found that lengthier mediations tended to feature more creativity as did cases that involved two private individuals rather than businesses. Cases whose issues involved inheritance as well as the division of property following divorce seemed to foster the highest levels of creativity. Finally, we found that the amount of money at issue also seemed to be relevant: the highest levels of creativity were found in cases in which more money was at stake. In this article, we also discuss the implications of our findings for future research, practice, and training.

AB - In this study, we examined creativity in court-connected mediation. We analyzed 129 mediated agreements from civil cases in Norway and Denmark and compared the outcomes with the parties' original claims to determine whether the agreement addressed only the disputants' demands or contained other elements. If the mediated agreements contained elements in addition to the original claims, we considered them to be “creative.” We devised a creativity scale and found that approximately two thirds of the cases contained creative elements and one quarter of them contained more than five creative elements.We then sought to determine which aspects of the mediation promoted creativity by looking at a variety of mediation characteristics (length of mediation, characteristics of the parties, etc.). We found that lengthier mediations tended to feature more creativity as did cases that involved two private individuals rather than businesses. Cases whose issues involved inheritance as well as the division of property following divorce seemed to foster the highest levels of creativity. Finally, we found that the amount of money at issue also seemed to be relevant: the highest levels of creativity were found in cases in which more money was at stake. In this article, we also discuss the implications of our findings for future research, practice, and training.

KW - Faculty of Law

KW - mediation

KW - kreativitet

KW - mægling

KW - retsmægling

KW - court-connected mediation

KW - mæglingsaftaler

KW - mediationsaftaler

KW - aftaler

KW - mediation

KW - alternative dispute resolution

KW - mediated agreements

KW - settlements

KW - court-connected mediation

KW - civil disputes

KW - interests and needs

U2 - 10.1111/nejo.12069

DO - 10.1111/nejo.12069

M3 - Journal article

VL - 30

SP - 421

EP - 439

JO - Negotiation Journal

JF - Negotiation Journal

SN - 0748-4526

IS - 4

ER -