Factors Impacting Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Malaysian Private Universities: The Mediating Roles of University Reputation and Student Satisfaction

HRMARS - This study investigates student experience management determinants and their impact on sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in Malaysian private universities, with University Reputation and Student Satisfaction as mediating variables and IT Capability as a moderating variable. It examines five independent variables — Teaching and Learning Quality, Effectiveness of Communication, Student Engagement, Campus Facilities, and Programs Innovation. Drawing on the Resource-Based View, Expectancy Theory, and Institutional Theory, the study adopts a quantitative approach using a structured questionnaire administered to 330 respondents from admission, marketing, and student affairs departments across 71 Malaysian private universities, selected by their SETARA ratings through stratified random sampling. SmartPLS 4 was used to assess the measurement and structural models. The findings confirm that all five determinants exert positive and significant direct effects on SCA. University Reputation significantly mediates the relationships for Teaching and Learning Quality, Effectiveness of Communication, Student Engagement, and Programs Innovation, but not Campus Facilities, while Student Satisfaction mediates all five. IT Capability significantly moderates the relationships involving Teaching and Learning Quality, Effectiveness of Communication, and Campus Facilities, but not Student Engagement or Programs Innovation. The study advances an integrative theoretical model and offers practical guidance for university administrators seeking to strengthen institutional competitiveness.