journal article Feb 26, 2026

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

View at Publisher Save 10.1111/imig.70147
Abstract
ABSTRACT
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.
Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References
78
[1]
The theory of planned behavior

Icek Ajzen

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process... 10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-t
[5]
Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change.

Albert Bandura

Psychological Review 10.1037/0033-295x.84.2.191
[8]
Implementing Entrepreneurial Ideas: The Case for Intention

Barbara Bird

The Academy of Management Review 10.2307/258091
[18]
European Commission.2025.“EU Migration Portal.”EU Immigration Portal—European Commission on August 2025.
[19]
European Parliament.2016.“Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the Conditions of Entry and Residence of Third‐Country Nationals for the Purposes of Research Studies Training Voluntary Service Pupil Exchange Schemes or Educational Projects and AU Pairing (Recast).”
[26]
GUS.2024.“Szkolnictwo wyższe w roku akademickim 2023/2024.”Retrieved June 2024.https://stat.gov.pl/obszary‐tematyczne/edukacja/edukacja/szkolnictwo‐wyzsze‐w‐roku‐akademickim‐20232024 8 10.html.
[44]
Perceived public support and entrepreneurship attitudes: A little reciprocity can go a long way!

Witold Nowiński, Mohamed Yacine Haddoud, Krzysztof Wach et al.

Journal of Vocational Behavior 10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103474

Showing 50 of 78 references

Metrics
0
Citations
78
References
Details
Published
Feb 26, 2026
Vol/Issue
64(2)
License
View
Cite This Article
Krzysztof Wach, Katarzyna Mroczek‐Dąbrowska, Aleksandra Gaweł, et al. (2026). What Drives the Entrepreneurial Intentions of Migrant Students in a New Destination Country? A Case Study of Ukrainians and Belarusians in Poland. International Migration, 64(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.70147