The role of social institutions in the operation of Maribor start-ups and cooperatives after economic crisis in 2008

Abstract

The economic crisis in 2008 stimulated two distinct types of economies in the post-industrial city of Maribor: start-ups and cooperatives. They were both introduced and promoted as alternatives to the industrial or service economy. In the article, I compare them to understand the features that influenced their success, continuity, and their mark on young people and society in general. The ethnographic work was devoted to the relationship between the company/ cooperative employee and his/her family, kinship and age, socialisation, the role and meaning of local social and natural environments, perceptions of work, gender relations, missions and company products, legal conditions, the content of initial business training, the types and influences of supportive institutions, the acquisition of basic funds, leisure ideas and practices, the importance of digital technologies and databases, and the share of both business spheres in the formation of urban subcultures. The article also shows the importance of focal place, education and titles, recruitment and training (incubators), business skills, funds, language, growth, and the global movement of capital for the advancement of young entrepreneurs on both sides of the conceptual comparison. The author suggests that academic economics is the most important pillar of neoliberal ideology in Maribor and in shaping national legislation, policies, and funds. It is additionally important with its support to IT start-ups at the Venture Factory (University of Maribor). The crisis encouraged the state to support cooperatives from 2014 to 2018 with sociologists, philosophers, and anthropologists in the background. Later, when crisis was over, the state and municipality withdrew, and the community of cooperatives almost disappeared. This paper is open access and may be further distributed in accordance with the provisions of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 HR licence.