The purpose with this disertation is to find if there are selected factors which can force companies to grow. We have chosen five factors which we think can force the companies; market, strategy, profitability, demographic and institutional factors. We want to examine if there are differences between small and larger companies, and if there are differences between the lines of business.

The intention to growth is also influenced by different factors. The organization and the board have an effect on the development. There are also factors that can obstruct the growth, for example control. With a small company you have a large control which also means security.

We have visited seven companies in three different lines of business. The questions were identical but with open answers.

The result of our case study indicates that companies can be forced to grow. Three of the chosen factors definitively force companies to grow. Two of the factors are dependent of each other, but there are no differences between the lines of business or small

The conditions for real growth are a combination of the intention to growth, obstructions for growth and the force to growth.

The dissertation is written in Swedish.