A Pilot Study on Factors Impacting Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Malaysian Private Universities

This pilot study investigates the direct effect of student experience management determinants on sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in Malaysian private universities. Specifically, the study examines the influence of five independent variables, namely Teaching and Learning Quality, Effectiveness of Communication, Student Engagement, Campus Facilities, and Program Innovation, on the Sustainable Competitive Advantage of Malaysian private universities. Malaysian private universities face increasing financial pressures stemming from declining international student enrolment, intensified domestic and global competition, and limited access to government funding, necessitating targeted strategies for building and sustaining competitive advantage. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Institutional Theory, this study adopts a quantitative research approach using a structured questionnaire administered to 30 respondents from admission, marketing, and student affairs departments of Malaysian private universities selected based on their SETARA ratings. The reliability of the research instrument was assessed using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient through SPSS version 30, while construct validity was confirmed through Pearson Bivariate Correlation. The findings indicate a high level of reliability for all constructs, with Cronbach's Alpha values ranging from 0.854 to 0.958, all exceeding the recommended threshold of 0.7. No items were deleted as all factor loadings met the acceptable cut-off of 0.5. The validity analysis reveals statistically significant positive correlations among all study variables, with Campus Facilities (r = .749, p < .01) and Effectiveness of Communication (r = .668, p < .01) exhibiting the strongest associations with Sustainable Competitive Advantage, supporting the validity of the proposed research framework. These results validate the conceptual framework and justify a larger-scale empirical investigation. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on higher education management in Malaysia and offers practical insights for university management and policymakers.

Malaysian Private Universities, Sustainable Competitive Advantage, Student Experience Management, Teaching and Learning Quality, Pilot Study

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