Of course it's not only exclusive to tech startups...the word 'hack' has been commonly used to describe any Macguyver-esque resourcefulness for quite some time now.
I think non-tech corporations would benefit tremendously from more idea brainstorming 'hackathon' events -- which wouldn't exactly favor the upper echelons of management in their rigid roles (within even more rigid management structures). The whole point of any type of hackathon is to come up with disruptive results, which shake up product lines or the heart of the product itself, among other things.
I believe corporations can achieve this by keeping management smaller and more flexible, with the goal of being more open-minded towards new or radical ideas. Only then can these ideas be implemented, and rapidly so.
