From utility to necessity: the business plan as a multi-user tool for planning

and facilitate long-term planning. However, its actual value is still debated—while some view it as a bureaucratic tool driven by investor expectations, others recognise its strategic relevance for aligning internal decision-making and communicating with external stakeholders. This study addresses this tension by examining how practitioners across different domains—companies, banks, consultants and investment firms—perceive and use the BP in contemporary contexts. Drawing on 15 semi-structured interviews and analysed using the Gioia methodology, this research explores the evolution of the BP from a static reporting document to a dynamic, multi-user planning tool. Our findings reveal how the BP’s perceived utility varies depending on professional perspective and organisational context, and how it contributes to decision-making, coordination and strategic adaptation. This paper contributes to the literature by offering a practice-based perspective on the BP’s shifting role and by proposing an updated interpretive model that reflects its multifunctional nature.