The Level of Academic Leaders’ Mastery of the Intangibles Management Skills and its Role in Achieving the Competitive Advantage of Saudi Universities: A Field Study

This study aimed to examine the academic leaders' mastery level in emerging Saudi universities of intangibles management skills and explore the relationship between mastery levels and achieving a competitive advantage. A total of 330 randomly selected teaching staff members at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University responded to a questionnaire developed by the researcher. Findings showed that (a) the academic leaders' mastery level of intangibles knowledge management skills at university was high, (b) there was a positive relationship between mastery level and achieving a competitive advantage, and (c) there was no statistically significant difference about mastery level due to college type or academic rank or the nature of work while there was a statistically significant difference due to gender in favor of males. Regarding achieving a competitive advantage, the study revealed that there were no statistically significant differences due to college type and academic rank while there was a statistically significant difference due to gender in favor of males and the nature of work in favor of expatriates. The researcher recommended providing the current and the second class of leaders with intangibles management skills and enacting a clear law to protect intellectual capital from strict restrictions by toxic, dictatorial, or bureaucratic leaderships and from the misuse of rigid systems of accountability or traditional censorship.