Foreign Market Entry Strategies in Central and Eastern Europe: Poland as a Benchmark Case

This article by Arkadiusz Młynarski (University of Warsaw) examines foreign market entry strategies in Central and Eastern Europe, using Poland as the primary benchmark case. Poland combines the scale of a major EU economy with the cost profile of an emerging market — ranking 6th in the EU by company turnover, 20th globally by GDP, and 8th among emerging markets in the 2025 Kearney FDI Confidence Index — yet remains underrepresented in the internationalization strategies of many Western firms. The article compares four entry models (direct/remote sales, distributor, local subsidiary, and sales outsourcing), analyses the cultural and linguistic barriers specific to the Polish B2B market, and presents a structured 90-day market validation methodology. A recurring finding is that native-language front-of-funnel representation is not a cultural nicety but a quantifiable commercial variable: English-only outreach reaches roughly 10% of the Polish addressable market. Sectoral analysis covers services (65% of GDP), manufacturing, construction, fintech, and pharma. The article also addresses the principal risks of entry — tax complexity, currency exposure, local competition, and contract enforcement. Practitioner evidence draws on over 30 documented go-to-market projects in Poland, as described in the Poland Market Entry Guide, the Poland GTM Strategy Guide, and the sectoral overview at Poland's Most Promising Industries.