An Empirical Analysis and Critical Assessment of Strategic Electronic Commerce Adoption in the German Automotive Industry
E-Book, Englisch, 169 Seiten
ISBN: 978-3-656-96037-9
Verlag: GRIN Publishing
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Kein
additional sales channels besides integrating the car dealership networks within the emerging multi-channel environment, offering unique product presentation in digital showrooms and building strategic partnerships with IT-providers in order to thrive. Additionally, car manufacturers that can offer a seamless customer experience across all physical and digital touch points through integrating and penetrating the additional sales channels within the existing ones besides managing emerging channel-conflict and building a central data base for customer insight and relationship management will
outreach their peers. Having a strong integration in-between the customers, suppliers and business processes in combination with personalized and targeted marketing, all driven by a top-down leadership approach with strong change management capabilities, will enable a car manufacturer to transform operations on a digital basis towards a multichannel
business.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
1. Introduction
1.1 Problem and Purpose
“Yet competition for profits goes beyond established industry rivals to include four other competitive forces as well: customers, suppliers, potential entrants, and substitute products. The extended rivalry that results from all five forces defines an industries structure and shapes the nature of competitive interaction within an industry.”[1] In his work on competitive forces that shape an enterprises strategy, Porter stresses the importance of being aware of the strongest competitive force or forces that determine the profitability of an industry.[2] To sustain a long-term profitability, every industry must respond strategically to competition, taking into consideration the five forces that can harm turnover, and respond rapidly to market changes in order to stay ahead of rivals. With the emergence of the tech-savvy, global consumer, industries, regardless of the physics of their product, are forced to act strategic to this persuasive force. These consumers have amazing options at their fingertip, from information to services and of course the ability to shop from anywhere with different devices. The digital customer wants to shop using a multitude of channels which forces traditional business models to shift their sales channels, change their way in which they track and measure consumer behaviour, market their products, run their store and manage their supply chains.[3] Besides Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce), tablets and smartphones blur the lines between browsing and shopping, by allowing consumers to access information, compare prices and make purchases almost instantaneously. E-Commerce has already transformed numerous industries, including apparel and consumer electronics. Traditional industries, such as the automotive sector, are experiencing “unprecedented changes”[4] and currently facing the digital age that will, “[…] ultimately, be placed on the traditional distribution channel and dealer network.”[5] As E-Commerce offers a multitude of advantages such as no restraints of region and time, low cost, convenience and speed, German car manufacturers rethink their distribution channels and seek for a multi-channel driven sales mode, although it won’t replace the traditional way of distributing vehicles through car dealership.[6] In 2013, Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) started to distribute the electric car “i3” via E-Commerce and postulated a strategic future retail concept. The overall trend in the industry moves from traditional point of sales to showrooms in prospering cities that correlate with the concept of “Product Genius”[7], as Apple introduced it years ago, in order to provide unique services to the customers and adapt to the changing buying behavior. Without a doubt, the emerging customer, who will change the marketplace due to the digitization and the evolution of tech-savvy, socio-demographic groups, will be the major driver pushing appetence for multi-channel purchasing opportunities. Accenture argues for an overall improvement of “[…] channel economics, potentially reducing new vehicle selling costs by 60 percent through lower inventory holding and advertising costs, improved sales productivity, and minimized marketing expenses“[8] in the automotive industry making use of e-Retail. 1.2 Approach to the thesis and outline
The thesis addresses the following research question(s): The thesis is shaped with a qualitative research design, in which the knowledge claims are primarily based on constructivist perspectives (i.e. multiple meanings of individual experiences, socially and historical constructed, with an intent of forming a theory). The field research was a collection of open-ended, emerging data with a primary intent of developing themes from the data. Qualitative research methods of the thesis encompass interview data (open-ended questions) and text/image analysis.[9] In chapter 2.1 the author builds the foundation for the different issues, theories and research fields and sets the conceptual borders in order to build a framework for investigation that seeks at finding deliverables to the research questions. In this chapter the three main drivers “Business strategy”, “Multi-Channel Marketing” and “Electronic Commerce” are defined. In chapter 3.1 the author deals with the “Business Strategic Perspective” in order to reply to research question 1 and outlines fundamental theoretical contribution by dealing with the development of a digital business strategy and business model for E-Commerce and its strategic implications. In chapter 3.2 the author focuses on the “Multi-Channel Marketing Perspective” in order to respond to research question 1 by outlining fundamentals of Multi-Channel Marketing, taking into consideration the role of E-Commerce within this environment and identifying success factors of cross-channel management in order to capture value for the multi-channel customer. In chapter 3.3 the author beholds an “E-Commerce Perspective” in order to reply to research question 1 with strong focus on the adoption of Electronic Commerce. The author conducts fundamental theoretical contribution, such as best practices and factors for success in E-Commerce, and also takes the managerial impact, information technology, logistics and distribution models into account. In chapter 4.1 the author takes empirical social research into consideration in dependence on the research methodology. The author deals with central principles of qualitative research and the research design and process of a qualitative study. In chapter 4.2 the author describes his research framework and method of data gathering and evaluation. In addition, he deals with quality criteria of qualitative interviews. In chapter 4.3 the author outlines the inputs of the empirical analysis in order to reply to research question 2 and depicts E-Commerce success factors and strategic imperatives for E-Commerce adoption in the German automotive industry. In chapter 5 the author critically reflects and evaluates the theoretical deliverables and distinguishes them from the implications for practical transfer. In addition, the author summarizes the main deliverables, takes into consideration the overall research approach and research questions and deals with limitations and further research. 1.3 Object of investigation
Selz and Klein (1998) examine the role and functions of the emerging electronic marketplace and the transforming value chains with regard to their impact on established distribution sales channels in the case of the automotive industry, which is characterized by physical products and infrastructures. They identify two different automotive “cybermediaries”[10] categories, the automotive service brokers and automotive information brokers. Selz and Klein emphasize their impact and state that these cyberdmediaries might become serious competitors to the exclusive auto manufacturer’s distribution systems.[11] Brokerage effect: IT reduces cost for buyers to request quotes from several vendors and thus enables the bypassing of trade intermediaries, which allows manufacturer’s to get direct access to the end customers. Cybermediaries: New intermediaries that enter the marketplace, building their business purely in cyberspace with a better understanding of hypermedia computer-mediated environments (Low entry barriers for Electronic Commerce). In addition to the market saturation within the industrialized countries of Western-Europe, Japan and North America, product differences are reduced to design aspects and thus require new branding concepts.[12] At the same time, the customer faces a complex bundle of incorporating services (e.g. finance and insurance), which marks a move from the simple durable good of a car. Selz and Klein introduce a stylized description of the auto distribution channels (1998) that already discloses an accurate picture of emerging trends that seem to affect the automotive industry sixteen years later. In a sense, the chart reflects several aspects: Affection of established distribution channels by the globally excessive capacity Emergence of “agile newcomers”[13], or the digital immigrant these days, that uses IT to repackage the product much leaner New...
