The Impact of Digital Trade Platforms on SME Internationalization, Management Strategies for Entering Foreign Markets

Sarkhan Aliyev

Diplomová práce

Abstract:

This thesis examines the role of digital trade platforms in the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a particular focus on Azerbaijan. The study investigates how digital platforms facilitate foreign market entry, what challenges SMEs encounter in this process, and which management strategies they develop to sustain international growth. The research is based on a mixed-method approach. The qualitative part draws on semi-structured interviews with four SMEs from different sectors: furniture and interior design, cosmetics, jewellery and handicrafts, and carpets and traditional crafts. The quantitative part analyzes macro-level indicators related to digitalization and trade in Azerbaijan between 2007 and 2024. The findings show that digital platforms play a crucial role in helping SMEs gain visibility, establish first contact with foreign customers, test demand, and enter international markets with lower costs and lower risk than through traditional channels. At the same time, digital internationalization is not frictionless. SMEs face major challenges related to trust-building, intense competition, logistics, payment systems, platform dependency, and cultural adaptation. The quantitative results support the qualitative findings by showing that Azerbaijan’s digital environment has strengthened significantly over time, especially in Internet use and ICT service exports, even though the broader trade environment has remained unstable. Overall, the thesis concludes that digital platforms provide SMEs with a powerful starting point for internationalization, but sustainable success depends on how strategically and consciously firms use these opportunities in practice.

Keywords

Digital Transformation, Online Market Place, Digital Trade Platforms, SME Internationalization, Foreign Market Entry, Management Strategies, E-commerce, Cross Border Trade

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 3. 4. 2026

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: Ing. Olga Regnerová, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Ondřej Dvořák, externi

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Provozně ekonomická fakulta

Magisterský studijní program:
Economics and Management