IER-09-01-03-pp027--2123-Kubiciel-Lodzinska,Maj,David 2023, Vol. 9, No. 1 10.15678/IER.2023.0901.03 How to attract migrant entrepreneurs to peripheral regions? Evidence from Poland Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska, Jolanta Maj, Alexandra David A B S T R A C T Objective: The article aims to identify market entrance barriers faced by migrant entrepreneurs and reasons for the attractiveness of specific places when starting a business in so-called peripheral regions. Research Design & Methods: This article presents the results of a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews, for which 21 migrant entrepreneurs were interviewed in 2019 and 2020 in Opolskie Voivodeship. Findings: The findings suggest the respondents selected the Opolskie Voivodeship for business activities on the bases of socio-spatial embeddedness. Neither the entrepreneurial ecosystem nor the promising economic situation were identified as meaningful for starting or growing businesses. Implications & Recommendations: Drawing on the findings, the authors developed practical implications for policymakers. Attention should be given to tools attracting migrants to peripheral regions. Established migrant entrepreneurs in peripheral regions could be integrated into a regional attraction concept and make the local ecosystem more inclusive for this group of entrepreneurs. They may be turned into practice by giving them the right to member and participate in official networks of the economic development agency or the chamber of commerce. In general, the openness of migrants to reach out to support infrastructures for business crea- tion should be actively addressed. Contribution & Value Added: The research fills the research gaps relating to the spatial dimension and the regional context of the presence of migrant entrepreneurs in the peripheral areas of Poland. Article type: research article Keywords: Entrepreneurship; migrant entrepreneurship; migration; migration management; pe- ripheral regions JEL codes: L26, 015, F22 Received: 5 October 2022 Revised: 30 January 2023 Accepted: 28 February 2023 Suggested citation: Kubiciel-Lodzińska, S., Maj, J., & David, A. (2023). How to attract migrant entrepreneurs to peripheral regions? Evidence from Poland. International Entrepreneurship Review, 9(1), 27-41. https://doi.org/10.15678/IER.2023.0901.03 INTRODUCTION Even though a few studies on the topic have been published in the past few years (Kordel et al., 2022; Elo et al., 2022; Elo et al., 2019), research on peripheral regions and migrant entrepreneurship remains underdeveloped. In Poland, studies on migrant entrepreneurship and the spatial dimensions also rather tend to focus on larger cities and/or metropolitan areas as Krakow (Brzozowski, 2019) and Warsaw (An- drejuk, 2017; Brzozowska & Postuła, 2014) then on peripheries. However, since Poland has numerous peripheral regions, it is necessary to address the issue there. This article deals with peripheral regions understood as those that are not only rural but marginalized for various reasons, such as the example of Opolskie Voivodeship. The region has been suffering from a brain drain for decades due to strong labour emigration to Germany and Western Europe and currently has the lowest GDP in Poland (CSO, 2022). Moreover, Opolskie Voivodeship is located between two bigger agglomerations which are the region of Katowice and Wroclaw. On the one hand, this means that this peripheral is not visible and that it is not attractive for investors who tend to capitalise on the two large agglomerations and cities. On the other International Entrepreneurship Review RI E 28 | Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska, Jolanta Maj, Alexandra David hand, a highly educated workforce is attracted to the bigger agglomerations and students chose to study there, without considering the existing universities in Opole. Thus, human resource in form of students and experts is less available to Opolskie Voivodeship from the beginning. This again leads to a downward spiral: less available human capital, less purchasing power, less attractive places to live, fewer economic advantages, less good education, less visibility, etc. Therefore, being distressed by a declining economic force, exemplary Opolskie Voivodeship is dependent on immigration and entrepreneurial activities. Dur- ing the increase in immigration in recent years, peripheral regions, in general, are beginning to participate in the discourse, as migrants can contribute to maintaining or expanding the diversity of peripheral and rural labour markets (Kordel et al., 2022; Schemschat, 2021; David, 2015). While workers and self-em- ployed often compete in larger cities and metropolitan areas, peripheral regions in general offer more potential for trying out business ideas and for start-ups. Here, also migrants as employees and entrepre- neurs can contribute to the maintenance of the infrastructure, be creative and live and work at adequate distances. The uniqueness of migrant entrepreneurs’ customer base due to diverse products and services (Curci & Mackoy, 2010) can broaden the economic sectors in ‘left-behind places.’ Migrant entrepreneurs’ multifocal embeddedness (Solano et al., 2022), which is the simultaneous involvement with places and people in several spatial spheres such as country of origin (CoO) and the country of residence (CoR) (Henn, 2014) can create new opportunities for peripheries and individuals living there. In this context, Vertovec (2009) discusses the possibility that migrant entrepreneurs’ transnational links may broaden, deepen, and intensify economic societal transformation processes. Moreover, such interlinkages allow for the development of trust-based social relations, economic exchange, and activation of regions less attractive for indigenous entrepreneurs (Glinka, 2018). After years of being out of focus for international migration, in recent years, Poland has become one of the major destinations in Europe for some groups of migrants (OECD, 2021). Apart from Ukraine, the top three nationalities of newcomers in 2019 were Belarus and India (OECD, 2021). With the out- break of war in Ukraine, since February 2022, increased numbers of women with children have immi- grated to Poland. Besides refugees seeking protection, other groups of migrants come to Poland for economic reasons. They are attracted by employment possibilities, higher wages, and higher living standards that Poland offers in comparison to their countries of origin. Against this backdrop, the present article deals with the attraction of migrant entrepreneurship in the Opolskie Voivodeship (David et al., 2022a; Xavier et al., 2013). Hereby, the focus lies on the iden- tification of pull factors and market entrance barriers faced by migrant entrepreneurs in this peripheral region, who are inspired to start or run businesses outside the country’s central metropolitan areas. In so doing, the article addresses the identified research gap which relates to migrant entrepreneurial activities in peripheral regions in Poland and asks the following questions: 1. What originally attracted migrants living in Opolskie Voivodeship to this specific peripheral region? 2. What were their major reasons for starting a business in the Opolskie Voivodeship? 3. What were and are the main barriers hindering migrants to run their own businesses in the Opolskie Voivodeship? In what follows, we will start with a literature review to position our study in the scientific discourse on migrant entrepreneurship and spatial dimensions. Next, we will introduce our method and the re- search design, and then our main results. Finally, the article will conclude with a discussion of the find- ings. The conclusions will draw some implications for policymakers. By linking results to current de- bates, we will formulate suggestions for future research. LITERATURE REVIEW Inspired by David et al. (2022a), in this article migrant entrepreneurship is defined as an umbrella term for the phenomenon of migrants starting and running businesses in CoRs in the first and second gen- eration. In so doing, the authors do not neglect further subgroups of migrant entrepreneurship (David et al., 2022a) such as, to name some, ethnic (Edwards et al., 2016), diaspora (Sternberg et al., 2023 How to attract migrant entrepreneurs to peripheral regions? Evidence from Poland | 29 forthcoming; Elo, & Minto-Coy, 2019) or refugee groups (Hartmann & Philipp, 2022). However, these groups do not play a role in the sample used here. The fact that entrepreneurial activities are always embedded in a context was already demon- strated in studies by Polanyi (1944) and later Granovetter (1985). Both argue that economic activities at large are always embedded in social relations and cannot be taken out of the framework. Gradu- ally, these ideas were translated into other scientific areas and in 1997, Oinas introduced the con- cept of spatial embeddedness. Against this backdrop, scholars recognise that entrepreneurship in general including migrant entrepreneurs is an important aspect of regional development and influ- ences economic force (Sandoz et al., 2022). Moreover, some posit that spatialities influence entre- preneurs in overall and in that line migrant entrepreneurs’ activities in the same manner (David & Schäfer, 2022). The interplay between migrant businesses and the regional dimension becomes par- ticularly clear in times of crisis. Others observe that especially through the many lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandamic, local embeddedness among and well-being of like-minded people (Andrejuk, 2022; Terstriep et al., 2022) played a big role for SMEs, to which most migrant entrepreneurs belong. For instance, in Germany, specific measures were established for this vulnerable group of start-ups and SMEs (David et al., 2022b). Distinct from earlier crises, the shock caused by COVID-19 forced businesses, especially SMEs and start-ups to handle unexpected changes in almost any area of their business activities (Schepers, 2021; Kuckertz et al., 2020). Drawing on embeddedness in geography, the concept was introduced by Hess (2004) and further developed into socio-spatial embeddedness. Besides the understanding of how regional environments affect economic activities, this concept was expanded by highlighting the relational perspective on economic actors and firms instead of analysing the geographical dimensions only (Bathelt & Glückler, 2003). In that vein, based on Yeung (2005; 2008) David and Schäfer (2022) highlight ‘the characteristics of socio-spatial relations while accounting for power relations and actor-specific practice.’ From the spatial perspective, considering relational space as an opportunity structure, Kloosterman et al. (1999) introduce their concept of mixed embeddedness describing migrant entrepreneurs in larger socio-spa- tial contexts. By combining multifocality and mixed embeddedness, Solano et al. (2022) argue that migrant entrepreneurs can be simultaneously involved in multiple groups of people and multiple places. This again refers mainly to those entrepreneurs who act transnationally. Transnationality in entrepreneurship describes the business makers who move and act cross-border (Harima & Baron 2020; Portes & You, 2013; Drori et al., 2009; Portes, 2001). In these terms, entrepreneurs being trans- national can make an important contribution to the transfer of knowledge over long distances in trans- national social spaces (Henn, 2014; Pries, 2001). Since some of the migrant entrepreneurs live trans- nationally or have a transnational business model, it is these entrepreneurs who are recognised since the work of Saxenian (2007) as main contributers to the growth of regions. However, it is rare to find topic-related studies in rural areas and peripheries relating to Poland. Still, there are such exceptions as entrepreneurship in border regions, e.g. between Poland and Ger- many (Skraba & Nowicka, 2018) or refugee entrepreneurship in German rural areas (Kordel et al., 2022), the Marche region in central Italy (Brzozowski & Cucculelli, 2020), Baden-Württemberg in Ger- many (Leicht et al., 2012) or rural immigrant entrepreneurship in Norway (Munkejord, 2017). Arguing that in the context of regional development, entrepreneurship is a supporting factor (Matejovsky et al., 2014), this, even more, applies to rural and in the case of Opolskie Voivodeship to peripheral regions. To close the knowledge gap related to understanding the contribution of migrant entrepreneurs in peripheral regions, our study can give some hints. While the survey does not address the exact circumstance of how migrant entrepreneurs contribute to the development of peripheral regions, it goes a step ahead and assumes that migrants make a regional contribution as entrepre- neurs. Therefore, this article examines how to attract these migrants to peripheral regions and, in the best case, entice them to start up activities. Therefore, this study was intended to analyse the motives of decision-making of migrants for a specific destination, namely the Opolskie Voivodeship. Moreover, we decided to analyse the motives and barriers for migrant entrepreneurship in the Opolskie Voivode- ship in connection to the decision to start up the business, particularly in this part of Poland. Based on this, we formulated the following research questions. 30 | Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska, Jolanta Maj, Alexandra David RQ1: What originally attracted migrants living in Opolskie Voivodeship to this specific periph- eral region? RQ2: What were their major reasons for starting a business in the Opolskie Voivodeship? RQ3: Which were and are the main barriers hindering migrants from running their own businesses in the Opolskie Voivodeship? Next, we will provide insight into the chosen research method, present the results, and discuss them while developing implications for policymakers. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This article is based on a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. For this, an interview ques- tionnaire was developed and piloted. The next step was the challenging identification of respondents who fulfilled the criteria of being migrant entrepreneurs in peripheral regions with entrepreneurial activities. To make arrangements with the target group, scholars used their networks and the so-called extended networks (through colleagues, acquaintances, and snowball sampling). Additionally, contact was made with the Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Opole, which regularly organises meetings of German entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of German descent op- erating in the region (so-called Stammtisch). The involved scholars took part in such a meeting, during which they gained several contacts for research. The second institution that was contacted to attract respondents was the Opole Centre for Economic Development (OCRG). In addition, a database of Central Registration and Information on Businesses (CEIDG) was used, which was analysed for names suggesting that an entrepreneur may have a migration history. Unfortunately, a significant number of contacts were outdated, and it was not possible to obtain up-to-date contact details. Further attempts have also been made by using social media – Facebook – through posting information about the research (both quanti- tative and qualitative) on groups such as ‘Ukrainians in Opole.’ As a result, 21 respondents were selected. The basic characteristics of the respondents and their enterprises are presented in Table 1. Acknowledging the several different nationalities of the respondents, it was decided not to differ- entiate them according to nationality or their CoO. The interviews were conducted personally by re- searchers and by students, who were trained for this purpose. The interviews were guideline oriented. This means, the interviewers received a list of issues to be addressed during the interview but did not strictly stick to an order. On average, the interviews lasted about 45 minutes and were conducted between September and December 2019 and February and May 2020. They were carried out in Polish, as all interviewees expressed readiness to use the Polish language. The analysis of the interviews was done within the framework of the grounded theory (Hensel & Glinka, 2012). The analysis was performed using open coding and axial coding (Charmaz, 2006; Strauss & Corbin, 1997). To ensure the quality of the analysis, an audit trial procedure and a proce- dure for cooperation and disconfirming evidence were used (Creswell & Miller, 2000). Firstly, in- vivo coding was performed using MAXQDA software. The coding was approached by individual re- searchers, coding independently of each other. Following this procedure, during a joint meeting, the researchers double reviewed their codes. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION RQ1: What originally attracted migrants living in Opolskie Voivodeship to this specific periph- eral region? Most of the respondents declared that they decided to start up a business in the Opolskie Voivod- ship, because they were already inhabitants of this area. Only three respondents did not previously live in the region. Respondents were also asked about the reasons for choosing the Opolskie as their place of residence. Among the respondents from Ukraine, the existence of a network of contacts was indicated (chain migration), such as friends and family members. This attracted respondents to the region by also simplifying formal administrative matters. Moreover, the same respondents indicated How to attract migrant entrepreneurs to peripheral regions? Evidence from Poland | 31 Table 1. Characteristics of respondents Item Nationality Gender Previous professional experience or education gained in the country of origin Sector of industry Company size 1 Italy male Working in the logistics industry Transport up to 9 persons 3* Ukraine female Working in a production plant Cosmetic Self-employed 4 Germany male Law studies Law Self-employed 5 Germany male Agriculture Hotel industry, agriculture up to 9 persons 7 Ukraine female Computer science, studies: finance, Experience as an accountant and material processing engineer Information Technology up to 9 persons 8 Germany male Electrical industry Electrical industry up to 49 persons 9 Ukraine male Architectural studies Construction industry up to 49 persons 10 Egypt male Studies in the field of intercultural communication and art Catering up to 9 persons 11 Libya male Chemistry Catering up to 9 persons 12 United States male Law Law Self-employed 13 Georgia male Management studies Catering up to 9 persons 14 Ukraine male Studies Catering and hotel industry up to 9 persons 15 Turkey male Catering Catering up to 9 persons 16 Ukraine female Librarian Cosmetic Self-employed 17 Turkey male Catering Catering Self- employment 18 Ukraine male Construction industry technical high school, construction industry Construction industry up to 9 persons 19 Ukraine male Construction industry Construction industry up to 9 persons 20 Ukraine male Economics Photovoltaics up to 49 persons 21 Ukraine male Biology and chemistry academic teacher Catering up to 49 persons 22 Ukraine female Product Manager Florist up to 9 persons 23 Ukraine female Nurse Hair and beauty salon up to 9 persons Note: * respondents 2 and 6 were excluded from the survey because they had dual citizenship. Source: own elaboration. that originally the regional employment agency assisted them to find employment in companies based in Opole. In the case of migrants from Germany and the United States, a sentimental factor was im- portant. Both respondents No. 5 and No. 12 pointed to Polish origins and family roots because some of their ancestors came from the Opolskie Voivodship. Respondent No. 5 clarified that he came to Poland in the early 1990s during the privatisation of state-owned agricultural farms (PGR) and then, in favourable economic conditions, he decided to start his own business. Respondent No. 12 decided to study law in Poland for sentimental reasons. Respondents from Ukraine, Italy, and Georgia also indi- cated that they came to Opolskie for a higher education degree. Due to the demographic low, being located between two large academic centres, and the need to counteract the decline in the number of students, Opole universities have been very active in (re-)attracting foreign students for years, which, as research has shown, remain in the region after graduation (David, 2015). For some inter- viewees, the Opolskie Voivodship was not the first region of residence in Poland. Some of them previ- ously lived in Toruń, Poznań (large cities in central Poland), or Jelcz-Laskowice (a small town in the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship). Respondents who did not previously live in the region declared that they chose this area as their spouses came from this area and they considered the target city as attractive. Furthermore, respondent No. 3 not only was from Opolskie Voivodship, but he also obtained assis- tance from the authorities, and most of his clients were from Opole and its surroundings. 32 | Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska, Jolanta Maj, Alexandra David RQ2: What were their major reasons for starting a business in the Opolskie Voivodeship? The respondents were asked to recall the moment when they decided to start up the business and to explain their motives at that time. Within this area, the distinguished first- and second-order codes are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Motives for starting a business in the Opolskie Voivodeship Source: own elaboration. The named motives were divided into internal and external motivations. Among the internal mo- tives, the respondents indicated above all the needs of a higher order, i.e., striving for independence, self-reliance, or the desire to use one’s own skills. Respondent No. 9 indicated: Because I worked in different plants like this in Poland, and I just, I was there just for heavy lifting and not to..., and that forced me to start my own business and just do something myself, create something. And I also wanted to be independent because I usually had to do something that I didn’t want to do, for example, various things and it forced me to start my own business and opened my eyes to grow and do something on my own. How to attract migrant entrepreneurs to peripheral regions? Evidence from Poland | 33 On the other hand, personal preferences include the respondents’ comments that they have cho- sen a particular industry because they have always liked performing certain activities. The second group of reasons were external ones. Most often the respondents indicated a financial, or in a broader sense, economic, motive, but as in the case of respondent No. 19, it was partly con- nected with the desire to help his family in the home country: The main factor in establishing the business was the desire to earn more to help my family in Ukraine. I liked working for my current employer and I was treated well, and my salary was paid on time. In addition, respondents indicated a market gap or high demand for a given offer. As indicated by respondent No. 13: In Opole, we are the first; we are something else. For example, there is no such bread here as we make in Georgia. There’s bread there that... that’s so natural. There are no additives, for example, chemicals and such, and that is why it is healthier for people. Respondent No. 10 also indicated that he changed his plans based on market conditions: At first, we wanted to sell dresses, but not too much in Opole. By researching the market, we decided on fast food. It’s a good location for such a business. Some respondents suggested that their own business activity was a condition for them to work in their profession: I cannot be employed as an attorney-at-law. Starting my own business was the only way I could work in my profession (respondent No. 4). On more than one occasion the interviewees specified that they were guided by a certain combi- nation of internal and external motivation, as in the case of respondent No. 12: The crucial reason, I can tell you that, above all, was that I needed more autonomy than before. The need to be independent, i.e. the need to become independent, to be self-managed, not to be just some cog in another mechanism, i.e. an employee in the whole system of a given com- pany, institution, etc. To be able to realise my ideas, to choose contractors or clients on my own and, above all, I won’t hide the fact that the aim was also to achieve certain financial independence, not just to manage everything on my own – to shape the directions of actions, but also to work on my own account and, as a result of this independence, to achieve certain income here on my own account. The analysis of the motives for starting one’s own business was made with a division into the na- ture of motivation, distinguishing necessity-driven and opportunity-driven entrepreneurship. This dis- tinction is particularly important because, as the research has shown, necessity-driven entrepreneur- ship has a lower chance of survival than opportunity-driven entrepreneurship (Brzozowski, 2019). RQ3: What were and are the main barriers hindering migrants from running their own businesses in the Opolskie Voivodeship? Another issue that appeared in virtually all interviews was the difficulty of establishing, but also running a business in Poland. Here, three respondents seem to be an exception (R3, R11, R15). Within this area, the first- and second-order codes we distinguished are shown in Figure 2. The largest group of the barriers indicated were classified as administrative and legal barriers. Legal differences between CoO and CoR were pointed out, which resulted in some adaptation difficulties for migrant entrepreneurs. The excessive distribution of competences between offices was stressed, which was even described as non-functional administration. The legal status of migrants was also named as a barrier, as indicated by e.g. Respondent No. 10. and Respondent No. 23 who mentioned the tardiness of public administration and officials’ ‘arrogance’: 34 | Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska, Jolanta Maj, Alexandra David The biggest problem is Polish offices. Well, as with those girls who wait for a work permit: by law you wait a month, in the provincial office you must wait six months. For example, I come as an employer.... the applications are not available on the website of the office … you have to go to the office. And in the office as I understand, the application should be there, lying to take [but it is not there, instead there is] a queue, I wait an hour in the corridor to take the applica- tion, I enter the room, and this woman says to me ‘Get out of here, I’ll call you,’ I stood up and said to her ‘Excuse me?,’ and it began. I sat for an hour in the corridor to take the paper, and she says to me ‘Get out of here.’ Well, I try not to let myself be pushed around. Because they should be for us, not we for them. I always think like this: according to your institution I don’t have a single zloty of arrears, I don’t …. Therefore, if I need it, it is due to me, and I don’t have to ask for it. Officially it is 30 days, I will wait 30 days but not 31. Respondent No. 22 mentioned also difficulties related to the access to external funds to support the business. Since the legal status depends on the legal system in a given country (and is independent of the entity itself), it has been classified as administrative and legal rather than personal factor. The second group of barriers were identified as individual or personal barriers, among which the language barrier was mentioned most often. This also refers to the fears of attracting customers or the reaction of the competition, including the previous superior. Further barriers were classified as social barriers. These include manifestations of intolerance and res- sentiments of Polish society as well as Polish customer’s lack of trust. As indicated by Respondent No. 18: The contact with Poles was hard. If you are running a business and you are a foreigner, at the beginning they don’t trust you, I don’t know, for various reasons. Of course, we were providing our services very carefully and later there were Polish customers because at the beginning our customers were not from Poland. Later, when the customers from Poland showed up, they were very satisfied. The lack of tolerance in society was indicated by respondents from Germany, Turkey, and Egypt, like respondent No. 10: Firstly, I think people should change; their attitude is wrong. They can see where we’re from and they’re getting above themselves. The last barriers have been classified as market barriers and they include problems with recruiting employees both due to lack of desired qualifications and lack of motivation, especially among Poles. Respondent No. 1 indicated: Here’s the problem in finding a skilled worker in the transport industry, a driver who can drive, but not only going forward, but also reversing to a loading dock, manoeuvre the back of the vehicle, because that is actually a problem. … Finding people from Poland is getting harder and harder because of the 500+ [Polish benefit program]. At the beginning of the year, I had an employee from Poland. He said that he would rather sit at home than go to work because he gets tired at work. There is also a problem with young people who are not willing to work. … They don’t care [about consequences]. This is a different approach. It could be 10 years of difference between me and those who come to work, but a completely different mentality and different approach. You must know their qualifications well and verify them. Due to strongly articulated difficulties with starting and running a business in Poland, the respond- ents were asked about the source of assistance in formal and administrative matters. These sources were divided into institutional and individual. Among institutional sources, the respondents indicated attorneys-at-law and notaries, an accounting office, the City Hall, and universities. Among the sources classified as individual, the following were mainly indicated: friends, other entrepreneurs, including parents and previous employer, wife/partner of Polish origin, the Internet, previous clients, employ- ees, and own knowledge resulting from the profession (lawyer). How to attract migrant entrepreneurs to peripheral regions? Evidence from Poland | 35 Figure 2. Difficulties in starting and running a business Source: own elaboration. Informal (individual) sources of information prevail over institutional sources, which may suggest some shortcomings in public administration in terms of promotion and assistance to migrants’ wish- ing to start their own businesses in Poland. It is particularly alarming that despite a relatively exten- sive network of business support institutions in the Opolskie Voivodship, most respondents declared that they did not cooperate with such entities. Respondent No. 19 even mentioned the fear of co- operation with such entities: I don’t know any companies that support people like me in running a business. I do everything myself and a friend who knows Polish helps me. I’ve never heard of companies that support people like me. There are of course consulting companies, but they charge a lot of money for 36 | Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska, Jolanta Maj, Alexandra David consulting, and they give nothing concrete in return. I didn’t use the help of such companies, but my colleagues told me about these companies and cheaters. The observation that migrant entrepreneurs rely more on personal and family networks than on official resources and support infrastructures is one of the characteristics also identified by Metzger (2016), Leicht et al. (2012) and David et al., (2020) for countries like Germany. Research has shown that migrant entrepreneurship is not limited to large metropolitan areas but also occurs in peripheral areas. In countries, that are rural per se, such as parts of Ireland, this is uncon- troversial. However, to answer RQ 1, the migrants interviewed in our study did not select the Opolskie Voivodeship deliberately in terms of starting their own business. The fact that their businesses were in this peripheral area results from their circumstances, which might be them living or studying in this area, or is connected to private or sentimental matters. Nonetheless, one of the respondents indicated that she has her customers in the Opolskie Voivodship. It is interesting that respondent no. 3 revealed that she received assistance from support infrastructure when starting up her business. This may have prac- tical implications for decision-makers. It draws attention to the willingness and openness of migrants to cooperate with offices or entities supporting migrant businesses. The offer of assistance to migrants aimed at activating them by starting up their own businesses could therefore be expanded. To answer RQ 2, two types of motives for starting a business were identified: external and internal. Regarding RQ 3 the following barriers were identified: personal, market, administrative, legal, and socio-cultural. Entrepreneurial activities in peripheral regions are becoming increasingly important in the public and academic debate, also in Poland. Although large cities and metropolitan areas are the attraction points for crowds of people and herewith for migrants, it is above all peripheral regions that are de- pendent on brain gain. Our study has contributed to closing the knowledge gap by addressing the questions mentioned above. Based on this, we were able to indicate that for almost all respondents the so-called socio-spatial embeddedness played a role both in the question about the choice of the region and in the question about the reasons for the business foundation. Human relations and a sense of belonging through sentiment were the reasons that created a deep attachment to the peripheral region of Opolskie Voivodeship. Here, our studies are in line with Yeung (2008), and Henn (2014) and show that socio-spatial embeddedness plays a crucial role in business creation. With reference to stud- ies of Kordel et al., 2022 and Elo et al., 2019, our study revealed that peripheral regions can be attrac- tive to migrants setting up businesses, e.g., when it comes to customer base and trying oneself out in the role of an entrepreneur. Finally, in line with studies of Terstriep et al. (2022) on migrant start-ups in Berlin, we illustrated that being embedded in a region and being among like-minded people can help to overcome crises and make businesses more resilient. CONCLUSIONS The research shows that migrant entrepreneurship can be analysed on several levels with some simplifi- cation. The first level is the successful migrant entrepreneurs. They started a business that brings them considerable profits; they develop it by increasing employment or implementing innovation or at least inventions, acquiring new markets, etc. They entered CoR with a specific view of starting a business or with a business idea already in place. The second group are migrants who worked full-time but wanted to try their hand at creating their own business. This was often dictated by the desire to leave dependent employment related to the secondary labour market, i.e. those related to unattractive manual work with low prestige and low wages. The third group are people who were ‘forced’ by the labour market to start a business operation, which is known as necessity-driven entrepreneurship. As with all studies, also our study comes with limitations. We make no claim to the representative- ness of the study. We have presented a small sample of respondents and a great diversity due to their CoO, industries, company size, as well as duration of stay. This can simply be explained by the difficulty in attracting respondents. Notably, some respondents were excluded from the research due to their dual citizenship. The language barrier is the next challenge when conducting research with migrants in general and in our case with migrant entrepreneurs. How to attract migrant entrepreneurs to peripheral regions? Evidence from Poland | 37 We were not able to shed enough light on some topics, but we were able to identify further fields of future research. Further studies could deepen the understanding of the process of attracting mi- grants to peripheral regions. In the past, some studies on migrants and ‘left-behind places’ have been conducted (David et al., 2015). However, these migrants, like our sample, had in beforehand ties to the analysed regions. It would be interesting to analyse whether the already established migrant busi- nesses in peripheral regions could attract further migrant entrepreneurs from outside the regions. Next, the group currently requiring special attention in further studies, due to their size and activity in the labour market in Poland are refugees from Ukraine. The analysis of the situation of migrants and refugees from a post-communist country starting their economic activity in another post-communist country, where economic migration is quite a new phenomenon, seems of high interest. Hereby, a focus could lie on the similarities of entrepreneurial cultures and the path dependence of entrepre- neurial ecosystems due to similar political and historical circumstances. Another aspect could focus on the openness of the native population in peripheral regions towards foreign populations. It could dis- cuss whether there are tensions here when it comes to migrant entrepreneurship, or whether people are contented when they encounter cultural diversity when it comes to, e.g. food diversity. In view of our results, we suggest policymakers that they should first develop an agenda attract- ing migrants as a group. Already in the early 2000s, there was discussion about the need to address brain gain proactively and to have strategic plans for it (David, 2015). For migrants, who mostly move to the metropolitan regions, the peripheries can bring advantages when entering the labour market and self-employment. Because of the lower human capital, people can try here things out and im- plement creative ideas. Second, policymakers should establish migrant entrepreneurs in peripheral regions as integration points for those who want to become self-employed. In terms of chain migra- tion, migrants who have already made it to peripheral regions could attract other migrants and in that sense be seen as door-openers and pioneers to follow. Thirdly, they should actively address the openness of migrants to reach out to support infrastructures for business creation. 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Transactions of the Institute of British Geogra- phers, 30(1), 37-51. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3804528 Yeung, H.W. (2008). Transnationalizing entrepreneurship: a critical agenda for economic geography. Progress in Human Geography, 33(2), 210-235. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132508096032 Authors The contribution share of authors amounted to 35% for Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska, 35% for Jolanta Maj, and 30% for Alexandra David. SKL – conceptualisation, methodology, literature, analysis of qualitative data, data interpretation, discussion; JM – conceptualisation, methodology, literature, analysis of qualitative data, data interpretation, discussion, AD – literature, data interpretation, discussion. Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska PhD in economics (2010, Wrocław University of Economics and Business). Assistant professor at the Opole University of Technology (Poland). Her research interests include economic migrations, migrant entrepreneur- ship and the inclusion of refugees in the labour market. Correspondence to: Sabina Kubiciel-Lodzińska, PhD Opole University of Technology, Prószkowska 76, 45-758 Opole, Poland, e-mail: s.kubiciel-lodzinska@po.edu.pl ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5465-6967 Jolanta Maj PhD in political science (2014, Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies University of Wrocław). Assistant professor at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology (Poland). Her research interests in- clude diversity management and inclusion and their impact on business innovation and efficiency. Correspondence to: Jolanta Maj, PhD, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 27 Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland, e-mail: jolanta.maj@pwr.edu.pl ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5542-0713 Alexandra David PhD in management and social science (2015, University of Twente, Netherlands). Senior researcher at the Institute for Work and Technology of the Westphalian University in Germany. Her research interests focus on minority entrepreneurship and migrant entrepreneurship including migrants’ influence on innovation and re- gional development. Correspondence to: Alexandra David, PhD, Institute for Work and Technology, Westphalian University, Mun- scheidstraße 14, 45886 Gelsenkirchen, Germany, e-mail: david@iat.eu ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6393-8624 Acknowledgements and Financial Disclosure Part of the research has been financed by a grant from the Marshal’s Office of the Opolskie Voivodeship. The authors would like to thank the anonymous referees for their useful comments, which allowed to increase the value of this article. How to attract migrant entrepreneurs to peripheral regions? Evidence from Poland | 41 Conflict of Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relation- ships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Copyright and License This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution – NoDerivs (CC BY-ND 4.0) License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ Published by Krakow University of Economics – Krakow, Poland The journal is co-financed in the years 2022-2024 by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Poland in the framework of the ministerial programme “Development of Scientific Journals” (RCN) on the basis of contract no. RCN/SP/0251/2021/1 concluded on 13 October 2022 and being in force until 13 October 2024.