Big companies are immobile. It's very very hard for them to make decisions, especially ones that would require a dramatic shift in strategy. They are stagnant,

Big companies are immobile. It's very very hard for them to make decisions, especially ones that would require a dramatic shift in strategy. They are stagnant, and believe that they cannot give up their existing business. So instead of shifting focus and 'pivoting,' they purchase a startup. There's a great explanation of this in this recently popular post: http://steveblank.com/2010/06/07/when-big-companies-are-dead-but-don%E2%80%99t-know-it/ http://steveblank.com/2010/06/07/when-big-companies-are-dead...