“The research shows that the best middle-market suppliers tend to be the largest and fastest-growing middle market companies," according to Professor Thomas Goldsby.

While there are many examples of these active partnerships, a good one is the Ohio Export Internship Program at Fisher College of Business. Students use their expertise to help small- and mid-sized companies expand their global footprint.

This notion of feeling the pain in order to progress may be counterintuitive to those who believe in shaking off failures. But it's actually motivating to learn how bad it feels to fail, according to study co-author Selin Malkoc, a marketing professor at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business.

Middle market companies in the supply chain are team players, working closely with customers and their own suppliers, especially at the larger end of the spectrum. That's one of the findings in a report from the National Center for the Middle Market that looked at how these companies operate within the larger "ecosystem" of the supply chain, said Thomas Goldsby, chair of the department of marketing and logistics at Fisher.

“An empathetic person who constantly strives to positively impact the world.”

Fisher grad builds a guitar from scratch...and then learns how to play.

If you're looking to get to the top of the economy, aim for the middle.

Overall performance in the middle market continues to remain strong and optimistic, with most middle market leaders stating that performance has improved with very few reporting worsening conditions, according to the Q2 2017 Middle Market Indicator (MMI) released today by NCMM.