This text aims at proposing a comparative analysis of the trajectories of companies located in Corsica, and in similar departments of the Mediterranean coast. Through this study we raise the question of the specificity of an island economy compared to a continental territory considered as its closer neighbour. It also deals with the analysis of the way local specificities can influence the firms’ growth. From quantile regressions on panel data performed over the period 2004-2010, our results show the strongest sensitivity of the Corsican companies to the financial structure and the superior importance of trade debts in their growth process. On the opposite, whereas the companies located in island economies are supposed primarily oriented towards the local market, we bring some evidence about the sensitivity of the firms’ growth to the local factors and how they differ in Corsican compared to Mediterranean companies.