Nem Byg Tjæreborg A/S is a small Danish building contractor which is managed by two autodidact and very determined owners. In the last few years the company has been successful and experienced rapid growth. However, the company is run on a day-to-day basis where decisions are made without consideration for future scenarios. The owners have become aware that in order to continue growth the company needs to develop in accordance with today’s standards. Studies show that during the development of a company it will go through different stages and in these experience evolution followed by revolution. Dealing with a crisis proactively can result in less time consumption and thereby reducing costs. It is thus essential to identify existing crises and potential new crises in order to make the transition to more desired stages with most ease.

The goal of this thesis is to present a forwarded strategy which the company can use directly or be inspired by in pursue of success. The projects core is centered on the well-known model Closed-Loop Management System which is used to determine a strategy. Due to the limited time of the Master project, only the first two stages of the five stage model are conducted. However it is the opinion of the project group that this is enough to support a proper strategy plan because it is based on extensive knowledge of the company through several interviews, questionnaires, background research and an internship.

The thesis is divided into four parts. After a presentation of the company, the first main part is a preliminary analysis that examines the economy of the company. In order to assess the present and potential future crises, an analysis based on the classical product lifecycle model for small business growth is used to determine in what stage of growth the company is found. This analyses is complemented in the second part with strategic analyses that include the internal and external environment of the company. The internal analysis is conducted through interviews and questionnaires. Using a market and resource based perspective, its outcome will define the situation of health of Nem Byg Tjæreborg A/S. The analysis of the external environment is based on PESTEL, Porters 5 forces and a market analysis which define the capability of the company in its surrounding business environment.

The outcome of the analyses is used to determine a strategy which is treated in the third part. The strategy statement and translation is used as basis for a Balanced Scorecard where targets and measures that are essential for achieving the forwarded strategy are presented. The analyses show that the owners motivation and determined will is not enough to ensure success in future growth because the system of operation in the company is underdeveloped to such a degree that it can results in diminished profit and loss of projects in future years. We present two strategies, a short term and a long term, which will increase the chance of success. The short term strategy involves optimizing the operation of the company systems. The long term strategy deals with improving their competencies and capabilities within the Danish Information and Communications Technology (ICT), called IKT, which is necessary for dealing with larger Danish public construction projects. In the fourth part we present a timeline were we illustrate a process for implementation. Included is a plan of actions that explains how Nem Byg Tjæreborg A/S can accomplish their new forwarded strategy if this is what they choose.