More than 40 per cent of top Swiss firms want to join the eurozone to reduce the damaging effects of the safe-haven Swiss franc on their earnings, according to a Reuters poll of 30 Swiss companies.
The poll captures over 70 per cent of the Swiss stock market's total capitalisation.
The findings are likely to raise eyebrows at the vigorously independent Swiss National Bank as well as among the local population, which views the franc as much a symbol of Switzerland as chocolate and clocks.
Swiss voters have twice turned down closer economic ties with the rest of Europe in popular referendums.
"Becoming a member of the euro currency zone would certainly have a positive impact on our foreign exchange exposure," one corporate treasurer with a healthcare firm said.
The survey - carried out between July and October - was completed by companies on the condition of anonymity. It was sent to 60 firms representing more than 95 per cent of the Swiss market's capitalisation, and 30 companies responded.
Asked whether they would like to join a common currency zone such as the eurozone as a way to combat currency related swings in earnings, 43 per cent of the companies replied in favour. The remainder responded no or did not answer the question.
Almost half - 47 per cent - of the firms said they had switched to or had considered reporting in a currency other than the Swiss franc, such as the euro or the US dollar.
Top drugs group Novartis, biotech firm Serono, chemicals maker Syngenta, engineer ABB, and insurer Zurich Financial already report in dollars, while employment agency Adecco reports in euros.
Underpinned by low inflation, stable politics and strong balance of payment surpluses, the Swiss franc has roughly doubled in value against the dollar and risen by around a third against the euro over the last 20 years.
Since September 2001 alone, the franc has risen by over a quarter on the dollar and fluctuated in a 10 per cent range on the euro, as investors sought refuge in the franc during times of heightened global tensions.
That has created problems for Switzerland's export-dependent industries, whose earnings from overseas look lower when converted into a strong franc. A strong franc also helps overseas firms to gain a competitive advantage as Swiss products become more expensive and sales are reduced.
Almost half of the firms surveyed said the US dollar was their biggest concern, and 43 per cent cited the euro as the biggest headache. All of the companies that responded suffered from exchange rate exposure and used some form of hedging techniques to offset possible currency losses.
Some two-thirds of Switzerland's exports go to the eurozone.
Short-term currency volatility can have an unpredictable effect on earnings, and investors do not like uncertainty. Most Swiss blue chips see stock weakness when the franc appreciates.
"If we consolidated our figures in US dollars we would be smelling like roses," Juerg Witmer, chief executive of flavours and fragrances group Givaudan said earlier this year.
Among sectors, most engineering firms favoured ditching the franc and giving up Switzerland's independent monetary policy, while insurers and banks on the whole were more cautious.
"An independent monetary policy is an advantage," one bank treasurer said.
Swiss interest rates have historically been lower than those in the euro zone, a boon to Swiss banks, which are the world's biggest asset managers.
Only a fifth of treasurers believed the currency market was rational and moved in response to economic fundamentals.
The vast majority said the mandate of their hedging activity was to limit currency exposure and not take big positions to make profits. Just two firms - in the financial sector - said the treasury department was used to generate profits.