If we don't count "missing the boat" (as happened regarding search/mobile/social media), which arguably happens because of disruption from the newcomers and not mismanagement/underperformance at the oldtimers, what large companies have failed in the last 20 years?
Core to this point is that mega companies are only at threat from disruption, and it doesn't matter whether they're private or state owned for that
(I am of course ignoring companies that go under from criminal, as in corruption, mismanagement. I guess those are much more prevalent between the state-owned, for obvious reasons)
There's a shortage of key mineral reserves, but an abundance of corporate entities.
The entire company will go up or down according to output, even if due to external circumstances. Capital gets reallocated to better performing companies.
Examples: IBM, HP, Dell went from dominating to the doghouse; Microsoft made excellent strategic choices and remained relevant; Apple went from the doghouse to dominating, and so on.
This filters down to the employees. There is much more turnover and harder work (and higher pay) in private companies than at the government.
I'm not saying a state entity would be inherently better (though a case could be made for the benefits of long-term thinking that are more built-in) but I'd like to see the evidence that corporate businesses are inherently better themselves.