1. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY: MOBILITY IN EUROPE Martin van der Velde Nijmegen Centre for Border Research Nijmegen School of Management Radboud University Nijmegen PO Box 9108 6500 HK Nijmegen the Netherlands E-mail: M.vanderVelde@ru.nl

2. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY Outline - Introduction: communicating … … the not so common ‘what’ … to ‘who’ - Actual cross-border mobility - Unfamiliarity - (In)difference - Conclusions

3. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY 20% or more 10 till 20% 5 till 10% Less than 5% Share of cross- border shoppers Cross-border shopping mobility in the EU-25

4. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY MotiveFrom Germany to the Netherlands From the Netherl. to Germany % of total Shopping for daily products938,000437,0000.4% Run / Purposeful shopping488,000161,0001.0% Fun / Leisure shopping1,071,000420,0001.5% Total2,497,0001,018,0000.6% Cross-border shopping mobility in a border- region

5. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY ‘Motives’ for mobility

6. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY Bandwidth of unfamiliarity

7. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY Indifference in the Dutch-German border region Background: Germany: - 8 unemployed - 4 threatened to get unemployed - 4 looking for a better job the Netherlands - 13 unemployed - 3 not registered as unemployed Indicative results (no statistical testing)

8. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY Germans: 13 showed 'differentiating' attitude (all positive) 3 were 'indifferent’ Dutch: 8 showed 'differentiating' attitude (5 pos.; 3 neg.) 8 were ‘indifferent’ Indifferent Germans “I just have not dealt with it and have no intentions to consider it”. “Working in the Netherlands has never interested me, I have too little information.” “I am not looking for a job in the Netherlands but principally I would take up a job and even move there. But right now I do not have a car and would like to work in Goch itself.” Indifference in the Dutch-German border region

9. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY Germans: 13 showed 'differentiating' attitude (all positive) 3 were 'indifferent’ Dutch: 8 showed 'differentiating' attitude (5 pos.; 3 neg.) 8 were ‘indifferent’ Differentiating Dutch but Germany not an option 'I would not go for a job to Germany easily, for I really like the Netherlands. You are confronted immediately with such huge differences.' 'I am interested in working abroad, but just across the border [in Germany], I don't know. My German language skills are too bad. If the language problem would not exist, then of course it is really close, far better than going for a job to Amsterdam for instance.' Indifference in the Dutch-German border region

10. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY Germans: 13 showed 'differentiating' attitude (all positive) 3 were 'indifferent’ Dutch: 8 showed 'differentiating' attitude (5 pos.; 3 neg.) 8 were ‘indifferent’ Indifferent Dutch "Basically I am quite neutral on this. If I can't succeed here, it might be a possibility. I just haven’t though about it. [Laughing] I certainly don't have anything against Germans.“ "I have been looking for jobs in a large region around my place of living" (but had not looked into the German possibilities) Indifference in the Dutch-German border region

11. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY 1)Indifference because there is no need 2)Indifference because of a lack of information 3)Indifference because of ‘gut’-feelings 4)Indifference because of ‘rational’ (correct) decision Different Indifferences

12. BORDERS AND UNFAMILIARITY - Tendency to ‘stay close to home’, both physical and psychological - There is a bandwidth of unfamiliarity - There are different indifferences Conclusions and points for further discussion