Motivation, challenges, critical success, and failure factors of Philippine immigrant entrepreneurs in Finland
Estallo, Domingo Jr (2023)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023060116968
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023060116968
Tiivistelmä
Finland's first wave of Philippine immigrants came in the 1980s and 1990s as spouses married to local Finns. By the 2000s, a second wave of Philippine immigrants arrived as healthcare and hospitality professionals. By the 2010s, the third wave of Philippine immigrants came in as family ties and relatives of the first and second waves of Philippine immigrants. The third wave of Philippine immigrants noticeably took a relatively different path and had a different story from their predecessors. The most distinct characteristic of this group is that many Philippine immigrant-owned enterprises are from this new group of immigrants.
This thesis, a first of its kind on the topic, aims to add to and contribute to the rich literature on immigrant entrepreneurship. At the same time, it attempts to cover the gaps between earlier and related studies on immigrant entrepreneurship in Finland by focusing and delving deeper into the motivations of Philippine immigrant entrepreneurship. Their origin, background story, and the factors that led to their entrepreneurship. The challenges they have to overcome, the opportunities they see, the failures they face, and the factors contributing to their success.
To this end, a qualitative research method and qualitative analysis from direct observation and semi-structured interviews of selected Philippine immigrant enterprises in different cities of Finland were conducted to shed light on this new emerging immigrant entrepreneurial class. This study revealed that the Philippine immigrant entrepreneurship phenomenon reflects and extends a larger Finnish entrepreneurship phenomenon and the Philippine global diaspora.
Further, this study also showed that unlike other immigrants in Finland pushed into entrepreneurship because of unemployment or lack of job opportunities, Philippine immigrants were driven into entrepreneurship primarily because of business and market opportunities. Furthermore, the study also showed that similar to other immigrant entrepreneur groups in Finland, Philippine immigrant entrepreneurs view Finnish business rules and regulations and the tax system as challenging and burdensome. In addition, learning the Finnish language is another challenging aspect that they must deal with. Lastly, the study revealed that Philippine immigrant entrepreneurs see the inability to cover business costs as a topmost business failure factor, while the key success indicator of their business in Finland is more about survivability rather than profitability.
This thesis, a first of its kind on the topic, aims to add to and contribute to the rich literature on immigrant entrepreneurship. At the same time, it attempts to cover the gaps between earlier and related studies on immigrant entrepreneurship in Finland by focusing and delving deeper into the motivations of Philippine immigrant entrepreneurship. Their origin, background story, and the factors that led to their entrepreneurship. The challenges they have to overcome, the opportunities they see, the failures they face, and the factors contributing to their success.
To this end, a qualitative research method and qualitative analysis from direct observation and semi-structured interviews of selected Philippine immigrant enterprises in different cities of Finland were conducted to shed light on this new emerging immigrant entrepreneurial class. This study revealed that the Philippine immigrant entrepreneurship phenomenon reflects and extends a larger Finnish entrepreneurship phenomenon and the Philippine global diaspora.
Further, this study also showed that unlike other immigrants in Finland pushed into entrepreneurship because of unemployment or lack of job opportunities, Philippine immigrants were driven into entrepreneurship primarily because of business and market opportunities. Furthermore, the study also showed that similar to other immigrant entrepreneur groups in Finland, Philippine immigrant entrepreneurs view Finnish business rules and regulations and the tax system as challenging and burdensome. In addition, learning the Finnish language is another challenging aspect that they must deal with. Lastly, the study revealed that Philippine immigrant entrepreneurs see the inability to cover business costs as a topmost business failure factor, while the key success indicator of their business in Finland is more about survivability rather than profitability.