This thesis deals with investment issues in connection to growth and expansion related decision processes in small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. It focuses primarily on the empirical knowledge about the structure of the companies’ investments, the processes involved, and the investment behavior in this type of company. The Swedish sub-contracting companies and the manufacturing industry in general are facing new structural changes. There is also a clear trend towards fewer, but larger and more skilled, suppliers. These changes implies for instance that small and medium-sized manufacturing companies are facing dramatically increased demands with considerable and growing needs for investments. 

The development of an empirically grounded framework for investments in small and medium-sized manufacturing companies is an important part of this study’s conceptual contribution. The analysis points out the general importance of projects named super investments. This means large investments with great financial and strategic impact and which significantly affect the companies risk exposure. These projects has also proved to be of significant influential importance on the companies overall investment planning process. 

The results also shows that changes in the internal and external environments tend to influence the companies’ investments, with respect to both the initiation of new investment projects, the progression of these projects, and the management of and principles for decision-making in the form of analysis and investment logic. In short, the present study contributes with knowledge about the investment process by providing an overall picture of how decisions about investments are made in small and medium-sized manufacturing companies.  The study indicates that it is important to consider both conceptual and more practically oriented conditions related to the work of developing and finding suitable investment routines.