Digitalisation and Internationalisation Processes of Swedish SMEs -A Multiple Case Study of Digital Tool Selection, Integration, and Use Across Foreign Market Activities

Abstract

Digitalisation is reshaping how small and medium-sized enterprises enter, develop, and manage foreign markets. For Swedish SMEs, digital tools can create new opportunities for international visibility, market learning, customer interaction, and cross-border coordination. However, access to digital tools does not automatically lead to successful internationalisation, and less is known about how SMEs strategically select, integrate, and use these tools as part of their internationalisation process. This thesis explores how Swedish SMEs incorporate digital tools into their foreign-market activities. The study adopts a qualitative, abductive research approach and is based on a multiple-case study of six Swedish SMEs engaged in international business. Empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews with company representatives and analysed through coding and thematic analysis. This approach enabled in-depth understanding of how digital tools are connected to managerial reasoning, organisational routines, and firm-level internationalisation practices. The findings show that digital tools support SME internationalisation not as isolated technologies, but as strategic and practical resources embedded in everyday business activities. The findings also show that SMEs select digital tools based on customer needs, market requirements, internal capabilities, and fit with existing routines. These tools are then integrated into sales, communication, marketing, customer relationship management, market research, and coordination practices. Across the cases, digital tools were used to support foreign-market learning, strengthen international visibility, manage customer and partner relationships, coordinate activities across borders, and identify or develop international opportunities. The study further shows that digital tools do not replace traditional internationalisation processes. Instead, they complement experiential learning, networking, relationship-building, and market adaptation. The thesis contributes to research on SME internationalisation and digitalisation by showing that the value of digital tools depends not only on adoption, but on how they are strategically selected, organisationally integrated, and practically used across foreign-market activities.