Despite the fact that Sweden has long provided a breeding ground for global success concepts such as H&M and IKEA, we find that today's Swedish retailers are experiencing difficulties in scaling up their operations internationally. Our preliminary studies show that e-commerce can be an underutilized factor for creating international growth among small firms because it is rarely conducted efficiently or clearly strategically anchored.

This project aims to investigate how smaller retail companies can develop their sales channels and create international growth through e-commerce. Reaching out to foreign customers in a way that is both efficient and creates customer value is important for the long-term survival of Swedish retail companies. By continuing to build on the databases that we have created within the framework of our ongoing project, we will in the continuation project collect data that specifically reflects Swedish retail companies' international e-commerce. This data enables clearer comparisons between companies that have managed the structural transformation towards e-commerce better with companies that have managed it worse. The project can thus contribute with new insights on how a smaller company should act to succeed with its digitalization strategy and thus increase its international growth. The ambition of the project is to both contribute to the international research front and to generate new and useful knowledge for practitioners in the retail industry.