This paper studies the importance that farm managers attach to investment in the milking system in terms of their (management) objectives and expectations. According to a survey of 455 Swiss farm managers, the main reasons or investment decisions for all milking systems were to reduce labour and physical stress. For milking parlours, income objectives and animal welfare were more important than for other milking systems. In the case of automatic milking systems (AMS), the focus was on making working hours more flexible and increasing family time. The study shows that higher income or production volume become less important reasons over the observed time period and that AMS are implemented by older farm managers.