Stratégies politiques, avantage concurrentiel et performances

As market strategies, political strategies aim to lasting superior performance and both of them confer a central place to the sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). Although the argument which links strategy and performance advantage appears in the same form in both cases, the return on investments is assessed differently depending on whether market or policy strategy is considered. While there is no debate in the first case, the yield is questioned when the investments concerned are part of a political strategy. To explain this apparent paradox, the concept of SCA, as mobilized in the literature on market strategies, is first revisited. It is then stated that the ?strategy - competitive advantage - performance? pattern which is found in both types of strategy is only similar in appearance: the SCA does not play the same role and it operates according to different principles in the two cases. The particular difficulties that weigh on the performance of investments policies are finally exposed.