The knowledge and theories of strategic planning derive mainly from studies of big companies. Only exceptionally have studies been carried out to examine the conditions of planning in small and medium-sized firms. In view of this, the main purpose of this work is to contribute to the development of know­ledge of the phenomenon of planning in small and medium-sized firms, using theoretical and empirical studies. The research process has been a continuous interaction between theory and empirical data. Through teoretical studies we have penetrated environmental and strategic issues of importance for the planning process, and this section concludes with a developed frame of reference which rests on three main com­ponents, the task environment, the firm viewed as a planning system and the planning process. Together these components are said to produce plans which have the ultimate purpose of creating better conditions for the firm to interact with its environment. A multimethodological approach (triangulation) is used in the empirical phase of the study. Via a comprehensive questionnaire, primarily quantitative data of structural conditions and relationships were gathered. Eurthermore, nine case studies were executed in order to increase the know­ledge and understanding of the interaction of structure and process and, finally, a single company was studied over a period of several years with an intimate action reseach strategy. In this study we have found that formal and comprehensive strategic planning only takes place in a minority of the firms studied. Instead their planning is usually based on more informal and spontaneous processes. This should not be interpreted as implying a unified way of creating strategic planning. On the contrary, there are a variety of different planning styles, each based on specific conditions. This indicates that the planning process is contingent upon a number of factors and in this study we have found that there is a normal agreement between the environmental situation, the organizational characteristics and the planning style. An analysis of these dimensions shows that they represent forces which strive towards harmony with each other in order to make the firm successful. Three natural planning-archetypes have been found where there is a corres­pondence between the enviroment, intrinsical structure and planning style. The first of these is given the ideograph "programming" and is recognized by a plan­ning process where the "primus motor" is derived from the existing operations. The second archetype is called "arranging", based on the fact that these organi­zations, by minor and frequent adjustments, are trying to find exploitable niches. The third category we distinguished is termed "creative". All their future-orientated actions are based on the significant actors and their capa­bility to visualize the future, expressing certain goals and how to achieve them. / <p>retroaktiv registrering</p> / digitalisering@umu