ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN HIGHER EDUCATION: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22741854Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly transforming higher education, creating new
opportunities to enhance educational quality, institutional efficiency, research capacity, student support, and
graduate employability. However, the extent to which AI can generate sustainable competitive advantage
remains insufficiently understood. The study examines AI as a strategic organizational capability and explores
how its integration with human capital, institutional processes, educational quality, labour-market alignment,
and responsible governance can contribute to the long-term competitiveness of higher education institutions.
Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV), the study employs a qualitative, evidence-based research
design based on systematic secondary-data analysis and theoretical synthesis of evidence from UNESCO,
the World Economic Forum, and the OECD. The findings indicate that AI adoption alone does not constitute
a sustainable competitive advantage; rather, strategic value emerges when AI is effectively integrated with
distinctive human and organizational capabilities. The evidence also indicates the increasing institutionalization
of AI governance and growing labour-market demand for AI-related competencies.
At the same time, data privacy, equality of access, academic integrity, ethical considerations, and institutional
readiness remain important areas requiring systematic attention. The study concludes that sustainable
competitive advantage depends on the development of responsible, strategically aligned, and human-centred
AI capabilities.
Keywords
artificial intelligence, higher education, competitive advantage, Resource-Based View, AI capability, generative AI, digital transformation, human capital, institutional capability, educational quality, graduate employability, labour-market alignment, AI governance, responsible AI, digital inequalityReferences
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