Migrant entrepreneurs have learned to seize opportunities and respond to necessity, often adopting survival strategies, to pursue sustainability while navigating structural and institutional challenge. Recent research focuses on motivations, challenges, and socio-cultural aspects across different countries, yet the experiences of Filipino Migrant entrepreneurs in Thailand remain underexplored. The study examined how aspirations, business practices, and challenges interact to influence operational success, which is rarely studied in current literature. The study acknowledged four variables shaped by multi-layered theories: aspirations (Theory of Planned Behavior), business practices (mixed-embeddedness), challenges (Push-Pull Theory and Liability of Foreignness), and operational success (Resource-Based View). These, together with the entrepreneurial ecosystem that gives rise to recommendations. The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method research design, combining a quantitative survey of 100 respondents followed by qualitative methods of eight in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability test, normality test (Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk), and Spearman’s rho correlations. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed to provide deeper insights. The findings revealed that aspiration and business practices have a significant influence on operational success, while challenges did not have a direct significant effect. Operational success among Filipino migrant entrepreneurs varies by scale, legal position, and mixed networks. Their resilience is deeply rooted in adaptability, financial discipline, and resourcefulness, emphasizing their ability to navigate their businesses in Thailand’s culturally diverse business landscape. They demonstrate adaptive resilience, sustained by motivation, resourcefulness, cultural harmony, and community-based support. The study divulges distinct interpretations and strategies among micro and small enterprises, giving them a competitive advantage, despite existing structural and institutional challenges. The study recommends strategies to mitigate the challenges faced by Filipino migrant entrepreneurs in Thailand by improving their access to finance, strengthening cross-cultural networks, expanding their market opportunities, developing human capital, and implementing inclusive policies and cultural integration to enhance their competitiveness and pursue sustainability.

Keywords: Filipino migrant entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial aspiration, business practices, challenges, operational success, Thailand