I think it all comes down to the fears of investors. At larger companies they have to answer to share holders who are moody, pessimistic, and very bipolar. They

I think it all comes down to the fears of investors. At larger companies they have to answer to share holders who are moody, pessimistic, and very bipolar. They will look at a companies revenue, see that its doing well, but still lose sleep over every negative piece of financial news they hear. Then they'll demand costs to be cut. 'd-dont you see the economy...' Next thing you know executives have to do the same thing as every other company to be perceived as competent. Investors love their group think so if you're doing something different during a time like this they're going to lose their shit (even more.) For smaller companies the explanation is probably much simpler: there's less spending on new companies and therefore maximizing 'runaway' is critical. So if its not absolutely essential it needs to be cut. People who don't do that might not survive until things turn around, unfortunately. It's not a great situation to be in.