Self-Entrepreneurial Careers: Current Management Practices in Swiss ICT Work

Abstract

With the changes in the new economy, careers are said to be in flux. Although employees were for a long time at the mercy of organizations to make a career, this has supposedly changed in recent times as now careers are often said to be in the hands of individuals. This trend is called self-entrepreneurial careers. In this chapter, management practices of careers in information communication technology (ICT) work in Switzerland are analyzed and it is explored in how far ICT careers follow a self-entrepreneurial career pattern. It is shown that there are divergent career patterns in Swiss ICT work. The career patterns in two ICT companies are analyzed and it is highlighted that in one company the concept of increasing responsibility was predominant while in the other one network like careers were more common. It is argued that both companies reflect and support the idea of self-entrepreneurial careers.