Self-employed migrants from EU Member States in Poland: differentiated professional trajectories and explanations of entrepreneurial success

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the diversified self-employment trajectories of intra-EU migrant entrepreneurs in Poland in the context of the culture hierarchies persistent in Europe. The business ventures are established by intra-EU labour migrants, graduates of Polish universities, but also lifestyle migrants and individuals who migrate to Poland because of a partner or family residing here. Nationals of the post-2004 Member States are more inclined to register their own business entities than are nationals of the EU-15 countries: they are also more susceptible to the risk of failure (closing or suspending an enterprise). Qualitative research reveals that the career trajectories of EU-15 nationals are not necessarily dependent upon integration efforts. Immigrant entrepreneurs from countries like the UK or Spain may attract customer attention by profiting from their cultural background, but many of them exhibit a tendency to live in language and cultural enclaves. Migrant entrepreneurs from the EU-12 typically become successful in their business activities when they are well integrated with the host society - especially if they have a good knowledge of Polish.