Business activities of immigrants from Turkey and the former Yugoslavia in Vienna: Group-specific branch concentrations versus locally determined variations

Migrants who came to Vienna as guest workers from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey during the 1960s still form the majority of the local immigrant population. Business activities of Turks and former Yugoslavs cover a multitude of diverse sectors; what was once a niche economy has now become an important part of Viennese business life. This paper combines official statistics for Vienna as a whole, survey material and expert interviews, to analyse business ventures run by migrant entrepreneurs on two commercial streets in Vienna. Our research shows significant local variation in the migrant economies of the two groups in the study areas, highlighting the importance of the local context as an additional determinant shaping the diversity of business activities of certain immigrant groups.