There is an urgent need in the field of international entrepreneurship to elucidate how SMEs can pursue new opportunities in a digital international business environment. The purpose of this study is to examine, by using effectuation theory, the processes by which retail SMEs develop international e-commerce in foreign markets. This research is based upon qualitative data from three Swedish retail-SMEs. This study makes a theoretical contribution to international entrepreneurship research by providing more granular insights into the actual drivers of e-commerce internationalisation. In particular, this study illustrates how capabilities underlie the processes of international e-commerce development.

在国际企业家精神领域，迫切需要阐明中小企业如何在数字国际商业环境中寻求新的机会。这项研究的目的是通过使用效应理论来考察中小型零售企业在国外市场发展国际电子商务的过程。这项研究基于来自三家瑞典零售中小企业的定性数据。这项研究通过提供有关电子商务国际化的实际驱动因素的更详尽的见解，为国际企业家精神研究做出了理论上的贡献。特别是，本研究说明了能力如何构成国际电子商务发展过程的基础。