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The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners of management and information technology a sense of how the automobile industry uses the internet to market its products.

A review of the applied literature on practices and actual examples of companies' practices (obtained through personal interviews and basic empirical analysis of managers located in Pittsburgh, PA) was conducted. An analysis of data derived from web‐enabled and highly educated professionals from the metropolitan area of Pittsburgh, PA, resulted in 60 interviews from an initial sample of over 155 professionals from three area firms. Techniques reviewed include online advertising, data mining from web sites, other conventional advertising of the company web site and positioning their vehicles among the various search engines.

The statistical findings lead to the general conclusion that people are using the internet with greater regularity to gain information about vehicle purchases. However, the vast majority of those surveyed still preferred to ultimately complete the purchase in person.

The findings show that while dealers are forced to be more competitive in terms of financing and pricing, dealerships are not in danger of being cut from the vehicle purchase model, at least not in the short‐term.

The internet has proven to be an invaluable tool for consumers who are either considering the purchase of a new car or actually in the process of doing so. In today's market, automotive manufacturers must have a significant market presence to compete and, in many cases, just to survive in a business environment where several of the major automotive manufacturers must find new markets overseas.

Currently, automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) aim at developing Internet‐based methods to redesign their relationships with the suppliers. The majority of the manufacturers believe this to be a possibility to improve the relationships to their suppliers, especially regarding transparent cost‐structures. Suppliers on the other hand are very skeptical about methods in this area. Their fears of rising price pressure and potential losses of know‐how and competitive advantages are high. This article examines how strategic sourcing can be supported by Internet‐based methods. Thus, it tries to answer the question how the relationship between OEMs and suppliers will develop regarding the sourcing of complex material: will the Internet‐based relationships enhance collaboration or increase competition? An empirical study within the German automotive industry shows that the views of suppliers and OEMs differ substantially regarding the benefits and risks of an Internet‐based support of strategic sourcing. Hence, it seems that non‐technological problems are the main obstacles in the transition of these methods. It is evident that suppliers generally fear increased transparency within their structures in many different areas.

The decade of the 1990s has seen unparalleled innovation in the retailing of new and used motor vehicles. Most recently the Internet has become the facilitator of change in auto retailing. After reviewing the current state of automotive Internet services, this article develops a model whereby a new entrant could introduce a vehicle line and market that line directly to the consumer via the Internet – “the virtual dealership”. Consummation of the transaction, vehicle delivery, warranty work, after‐market parts and service, and used car trade‐ins would be handled by existing players in the automotive infrastructure. Includes a discussion of potential problems, concentrating on legal restrictions imposed by state franchise laws.

Examines how the use of the World Wide Web has evolved in relation to automotive retailing. Reviews the authors’ model of virtual automotive dealership developed in an earlier article in this journal and discusses analytically the current state and future of virtual automotive distribution. Concludes that the element contributing most to the viability of the virtual dealership concept is the willingness of a manufacturer to establish a new line‐make in the US market.

This paper provides an empirical illustration of the potential of a cross‐supply chain information system (CSCIS) in an automotive industry setting. Whilst dramatic reductions in downstream finished goods, work‐in‐progress and raw materials inventories have taken place in many automotive supply chains, this paper looks at how demand information can be made more transparent in order to improve the efficiency of upstream operations. The paper concentrates on the findings from a case study that used a prototype Internet‐based system to convert original equipment manufacturer (OEM) demand into second and third‐tier component requirements. A computer‐based value analysis illustrates how this information might be used to significantly improve supply chain synchronisation in the lower tiers. The research demonstrates how information systems can be used to improve supply chain performance and provides further motivation for the development of more holistic supply chain planning information systems.

This paper develops and proposes a game theory model that illustrates the effect of privatization on firm competitiveness using cases from the automotive industry. We first provide the mathematical derivation of the model for a competitive industry then address the special case of a duopoly. We chose the automotive industry as it is a relevant illustration of global competitive pressures pushing firms to develop strategic alliances or consolidate. The model shows that privatization has (1) a positive effect on firm performance given that managerial incentives are well defined, and (2) facilitates the firmʼs entry into strategic alliances. We then turn to discuss Renaultʼs empirically observed success factors in the European - and gradually global - markets over the last three decades despite the economic cycles.

This paper aims to propose a framework that can be used for analysing services in the automotive industry.

Existing categorisation schemes for services are investigated and evaluated in terms of their applicability to services in the automotive industry.

Services categorisation schemes are grouped under eight service paradigms, expressing the understanding that various authors had about services in different times and contexts.

The remarks are limited to the automotive industry.

The paper suggests services classification schemes, which can be effectively applied to automotive services in order to generate valuable managerial insights.

This paper provides an overview over multiple services categorisation schemes existing in the literature.