Two authors presenting research about megafirms couldn’t have asked for a better example. Megafirm AECOM had just announced the acquisition of construction manager Tishman Construction. The authors identified key trends in the creation of megafirms. One of those trends—"stuck in the middle and short on cash"—describes some big, successful firms.
Their research paper, “Supersized Competition: What You Need To Know About the Creation of A/E/C Megafirms,” was discussed on July 15 at the Society for Marketing Professional Services conference in Boston and funded by the SMPS Foundation. It can be found at http://www.smps.org/foundresearch.