effects, and test drives significantly influence electronic commerce just like in traditional commerce activities. However, companies nowadays can easily monitor the products they want to purchase in the Internet and place their orders.
Lack of customization for automobile parts is another major obstacle to foster electronic
commercenHowever, as mentioned in the previous sections, mass customization practices are increas- ingly employed in many industrial sectors, including the automotive industry. In the automotive industry, it is extremely important to meet and even exceed customer expectations and needs. Lack of customization for automobile parts as pointed out by the companies may be attributed to an important limitation of technological capability. Hence, the Industry is required to develop its technological infrastructure, qualified manpower, and sophisticated information systems.
Table 7 exhibits the opinions of the companies about the future of electronic commerce. The companies have pointed out that organizations will become more dependent on electronic com- merce in the future. In addition, it is generally agreed that electronic commerce will increasingly provide strategic competitive advantage. SMEs generally consent that electronic commerce will impact organizational structure of the companies