M-Commerce in the Automotive Industry: Making a Case for Strategic Partnerships

Abstract

The telematics technology, intended to streamline the information processing requirements of consumers driving a vehicle, has brought to surface the need for integrating the information technology architectures of various service providers with the manufacturing technologies of various automotive firms. While system integration has always been an issue when multiple vendors are involved in providing enterprise-wide solutions in business, this issue takes on greater prominence when it can impact the privacy and security of the driving public as a whole. This article briefly looks at various opportunities telematics can provide to satisfy the “mobile” society, and discusses the organizational behavior required to operationalize the technological capability and inter-company behavior to enable flexible business models. It will also discuss the role multiple business and government leaders have to play to ensure that these opportunities do not come at a significant social cost.