A proposal to Raise the Level of Competitive Advantage of Scientific Research from the Teaching Staff’s Perspective in Higher Education Institutions - the Kingdom of Bahrain

Abstract

The study aimed to provide a proposal to raise the level of competitive advantage in scientific research from the teaching staff’s perspective in higher education institutions - in the Kingdom of Bahrain. To achieve this objective, the study used a descriptive method, and a questionnaire as a tool for the field study. In order to determine the mechanisms for achieving competitive advantage in scientific research at the institutions of higher education in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the tool was administered to a sample of (137) faculty members  from some higher education institutions (public and private) in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The field study revealed a number of results, inter alia, the study sample agreed with all the proposed mechanisms to achieve competitive advantage in scientific research at institutions of higher education in the Kingdom of Bahrain at a high degree. Their agreement to the themes was in this order: academic support for scientific research, financial support for scientific research, community support for scientific research, and information technology support for scientific research. The study results also showed no statistically significant differences between the responses of the study sample about the proposed mechanisms for achieving competitive advantage in scientific research due to the variables of the academic degree  and the institution. Keywords: Competitive advantage, Research, Higher education institutions.