Limitations of e-Business
e-business is not all that rosy. Doing business in the electronic mode suffers from certain limitations. It is advisable to be aware of these limitations as well.
(i) Low personal touch: High-tech it may be, e-business, however, lacks warmth of interpersonal interactions. To this extent, it is relatively less suitable mode of business in respect of product categories requiring high personal touch such as garments, toiletries, etc.
(ii) Incongruence between order taking/giving and order fulfillment speed: Information can flow at the click of a mouse, but the physical delivery of the product takes time. This incongruence may play on the patience of the customers. At times, due to technical reasons, web sites take unusually long time to open. This may further frustrate the user.
(iii) Need for technology capability and competence of parties to e-business: Apart from the traditional 3R’s (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic), e-business requires a fairly high degree of familiarity of the parties with the world of computers. And, this requirement is responsible for what is known as digital divide, which is the division of society on the basis of familiarity and non-familiarity with digital technology.
(iv) Increased risk due to anonymity and non-traceability of parties: Internet transactions occur between cyber personalities. As such, it becomes difficult to establish the identity of the parties. Moreover, one does not know even the location from where the parties may be operating.
(v) People resistance: The process of adjustment to new technology and new way of doing things causes stress and a sense of insecurity. As a result, people may resist an organization’s plans of entry into e-business.
