Competitive Advantage = Strategy, Reboot

Abstract

This chapter takes stock of prior works on competitive advantage, a root concept for the strategy field. It offers key definitional elements and rationales that associate competitive advantage with superior performance, as well as existing criticisms of the notion and its empirical evidence. The last section opens new avenues for defining competitive advantage and enriching its relationships to performance. They pertain to the connection with other relevant literatures (e.g., on competition and market categories), the broadening of what (superior) performance means, and the mobilization of new methods.