The Journal hired consultants to investigate the matter and uncovered a major breach in which hacking groups it wasn't clear whether they were working together entered the company's networks, in part through computers belonging to business staff in the Beijing office, and from there infiltrated the global computer system, people familiar with the situation said.

WSJ: Chinese Hackers Target U.S. Media

For example, it is unlikely that a start-up will succeed in taking on Wal-Mart (WMT) directly in the retailing business with an everyday low price strategy nor will a start-up office operating system maker make much headway against Microsoft (MSFT).

FORBES: HBS's Howard Stevenson: What Big Companies Can Learn from Start-ups