Long‐range planning is not for everyone

Since the turn of the century management researchers, among others, have exhorted business firms to plan for their future. To us it seems obvious that the greater a firm's commitment to long‐range planning, the greater are its chances for survival and success. Most managers and executives “know” that this is so — they do not have to perform lengthy and costly research on planning to support so obvious a truism. Nonetheless, we did a research study of long‐range planning in the motor freight industry to find out whether long‐range planning is a necessity for every company in the industry. It also asks if there is a boundary condition that differentiates between those companies that must plan continually, plan occasionally, or not engage in long‐range planning at all. If there is such a boundary, what variables go into making it up? Are the variables controllable or uncontrollable? Can a model be devised that incorporates these variables? The answers to these questions can point the industry toward more efficient and effective use of its scarce resources.