2012 - 2013

Serbia, Albania, European and overseas countries

The aim of the research is to determine transnational entrepreneurial business activities of migrants and returnees who are doing business in/with Serbia and in/with Albania, and the success of their business that depends on regular contacts with foreign countries. More specifically, we try to investigate transnational forms of economic activities among migrants/returnees in the two countries respectively, explore their motives, and examine micro, meso and macro factors affecting their transnational business practices. The objective of this research project was to examine formal, semi‐formal and informal transnational networks developed by transnational entrepreneurs that link the Western Balkans with other European and overseas countries. We wanted to find out how the transfer of social and financial capital, together with know‐how, is sustained within these networks and how it may affect the local communities in their transnational social space; to explore how this phenomenon is contributing to the socioeconomic development of the respective countries; and to investigate the role of the examined countries’ governments and their policies in supporting this form of entrepreneurship.

This study has shown that there exist emerging trends of transnational entrepreneurial activities of Serbian and Albanian emigrants who are doing business in/with their homelands while maintaining close partnerships with foreign countries. The comparative analysis shows that these returnees have had different experiences abroad – due to their different social, economic, and human capitals, as well as different socio‐political structures from which they emigrated. The structural dissimilarities of the two countries differently shaped their emigration patterns and histories. At the same time, our research has shown that, although Serbian and Albanian entrepreneurs returnees differ in the nature, origin and scope of their economic activities, by starting small businesses in a range of sectors, they can contribute to the development of various spheres of economy. Recent studies (Newland and Tanaka, 2010) indicate that on the basis of their relationships in/with their homeland, migrants‐entrepreneurs are more likely than other investors to take risks and start businesses in the high‐risk or newly emerging markets. Therefore, providing incentives for transnational entrepreneurship ought to become an integral part of migration policies, and the development policies should also rely on the transnational enterprises’ resources and networks while striving to achieve certain economic goals, such as placement in foreign markets and image promotion. Encouraging transnational entrepreneurship and cooperation with transnational entrepreneurs can boost the development of the Serbian and Albanian economies, strengthen their competitiveness in the global market, and alter the image of these two countries. They are a potential link between migrations and development that could transform the currently predominant brain drain into brain gain and circulation in the researched countries.