The invention relates to an electronic switching element (1), which comprises in this order a first electrode (16), a molecular layer (18), which is bonded to a substrate, and a second electrode (20), wherein the molecular layer essentially consists of compounds of formula (I) indicated in claim 1, wherein a mesogenic group is bonded to the substrate via a spacer group (Sp) by means of an anchor group (G). The electronic switching element is suitable for the production of components (1) as a memristive device for digital information storage.