Breaking-out? A reconceptualisation of the business development process through diversification: the case of Polish new migrant entrepreneurs in Glasgow

This paper examines the business development process of 20 Polish new migrant entrepreneurs in Glasgow, Scotland. Based on a qualitative analysis of their business development activities – including how they broadened their market and product or services offerings – it unveils the incremental nature of this process as a route to break out from the saturated, hypercompetitive ethnic niche market. We, therefore, contribute to debates on breakout strategies to new markets and networks, and on barriers to new migrant entrepreneurs’ growth by reconceptualising new migrant entrepreneurs’ business development process. To achieve this aim, we propose a novel diversification process theoretical framework to analyse their business development process and specific activities.