Entrepreneurship among People with Disabilities in Unstable Macroenvironment
Conditions
Authors: Koza Andrzej , Politaj Adriana 
Published: September 2024

Aim: The study attempted to characterise and identify the behaviour of people with
disabilities operating as self-employed entrepreneurs in the period of dynamic changes
in the macroenvironment related to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in
Ukraine. Methodology: The authors aimed to identify the factors affecting changes in
self-employment among people with disabilities, and to place them in the context of the
changes occurring in the macroenvironment. In particular, the subject of the research
was to determine the trends in self-employment among people with disabilities against
the background of the total population aged 15 years or older, as shown in research into
the economic activity of the population in the context of selected macroeconomic
parameters. For the purposes of the paper, the following research hypothesis was
formulated: Self-employment among disabled people is a good alternative to full-time
employment in unstable macroenvironmental conditions, because it is better adapted to
their capabilities and gives them greater freedom in shaping their working time. The
basic research question was whether the situation of disabled people on the labour
market depends on changes in the macroenvironment, and if self-employment is a better
form of activity on the labour market than working full-time? The adopted research
methods were: critical analysis of the literature, statistical analysis, the inductive
method, and dependency analysis based on Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: The
subject research hypothesis was verified only with regard to some self-employed people
with significant and medium disabilities. However, in terms of all self-employed people
with disabilities, the hypothesis must be rejected. The basic time scope of the research
covered the years 2019-2022 and the first quarter of 2023, and allowed for comparisons
of the behaviour of disabled people in conditions of turbulence caused by the COVID-19
pandemic and the war in Ukraine, with macroeconomic conditions unaffected by those two
factors. The research included self-employed people with disabilities listed in the
register of the National Fund for the Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities
(PFRON). Following the study of the literature and empirical research, the authors were
unable to fully confirm the formulated hypothesis. Implications and recommendations: The
authors pointed to the necessity of continuing the research process in the field of the
behaviour of entrepreneurs with disabilities in conditions of an unstable
macroenvironment. This study is an introduction to further discussion and considerations
in this area and justifies the need to verify the adopted research assumption with the
passage of time and the acquisition of new data. This will allow to avoid typical errors
resulting from a relatively short time range of observations. Originality/value: The
article is a response to the cognitive needs of disabled entrepreneurs in conditions of
rapid macroeconomic change. There is a clear lack of findings in this area in the
literature. This study was also intended to fill the existing gap in scientific research
on the situation of people with disabilities in Poland and around the world.