What Drives the Entrepreneurial Intentions of Migrant Students in a New Destination Country? A Case Study of Ukrainians and Belarusians in Poland

Bibliographic Data

ID7514647
AuthorsKrzysztof Wach (0000-0001-7542-2863, Krakow University of Economics, corresponding author), Katarzyna Mroczek‐Dąbrowska (0000-0002-9015-899X, Poznań University of Economics and Business), Aleksandra Gaweł (0000-0002-7426-3474, Poznań University of Economics and Business), Agnieszka Głodowska (0000-0002-5317-8625, Krakow University of Economics)
Year2026
Volume64
Issue2
Publication date2026-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Migration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/imig.70147
OpenAlexW7134192315
LanguageEN
References cited68

This study explores the factors shaping the entrepreneurial intentions of migrant students in a new destination country, Ukrainians and Belarusians studying in Poland. By addressing a relatively underexplored topic, the research implements an abductive approach and develops a hierarchical model of factors influencing these students' entrepreneurial aspirations, identifying antecedents, classifying them as driving, linkage, dependent, or autonomous factors, and mapping both direct and transitive links among them. The study employs a mixed‐method qualitative approach in two stages: (i) focus groups to identify antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions; (ii) data collected based on survey responses were analysed using TISM and MICMAC to classify these antecedents according to their interrelationships and hierarchical structure. The research uncovers 11 antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions of migrant students, and based on their interrelationships, constructs a four‐level hierarchical model that maps how these factors influence and connect with one another. Legal and formal issues, such as stay legalisation, financial conditions, and business regulations, are three driving forces of entrepreneurial intentions, consistent with earlier research on migrant entrepreneurship. We also identified three dependent factors: partnerships, cultural attitudes, and attitudes towards migrants, likely due to students' integration within academic communities

Entrepreneurship · Focus (optics · Focus group · Multilevel model · Qualitative research · Survey data collection · Transitive relation · Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

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