Der digitalkapitalistische Geist in der Schweiz. Muster normativer Orientierungen in einem Traditionsunternehmen und einem transnationalen Digitalunternehmen

Abstract

This article discusses to what extent the legitimation of the economic actions of pioneering actors in the Swiss digital economy is oriented towards solutionism. In a first step, we propose an analytical framing of solutionism that focuses on the actor’s perspective and its negotiations within the context of nation-state. In a second step, we ask about the empirical manifestations of solutionism in Switzerland based on semi-structured expert interviews. Using the example of two large companies in the mobility sector, we argue that a Swiss adaptation of solutionism can be identified, which differs according to whether the company is state-affiliated or an international firm. On the basis of the analysis of their corporate structure, entrepreneurial strategies and normative orientations, we show that the traditional stateaffiliated company represents a solutionism oriented towards the nationstate and that the transnational enterprise, on the other hand, is oriented towards a globally intended solutionism, which, however, relativizes its peculiar anti-regulationism in the context of the Swiss economy.