Sentence:  The executive paid tribute to research and development and technology for their great contributions in the past , but he also cautioned industry that they tend to be great equalizers because they <WSD>move</WSD> at a fairly even pace within an industry and fail to give it the short-term advantage which it often needs . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)