A Proposal for Obtaining a Competitive Advantage at Sharia Colleges Sector of Al-Azhar University based on Virtual Internationalization

The study aimed at developing a proposal for obtaining a competitive advantage at Sharia colleges sector of Al-Azhar University based on virtual internationalization through, detecting the current state of the dimensions of competitive advantage, the challenges facing virtual internationalization and defining the techniques of developing virtual internationalization at Sharia sector colleges of Al-Azhar University in Cairo. The study adopted descriptive approach, both quantitative and qualitative. The study utilized both the questionnaire and structured interview as tools for collecting data. The population was represented by 497 faculty members at Sharia colleges sector in Cairo. The questionnaire was administered to about (139) participants as a random sample of the population to detect the current state of the dimensions of competitive advantage and the challenges facing virtual internationalization at Sharia colleges sector of Al-Azhar University in Cairo. A personal interview was also conducted with a purposive sample of (13) academic leaders at Sharia and Arabic colleges in Cairo to determine the techniques for developing virtual internationalization. The study concluded that the current state of the dimensions of competitive advantage at Sharia colleges sector of Al-Azhar University in Cairo based on virtual internationalization was totally at a moderate degree, where creativity dimension was first with a moderate degree of availability, then quality dimension with a moderate degree, and finally flexibility dimension with a low degree. The challenges facing virtual internationalization were high including legal and legislative challenges, then human challenges, and finally material and financial challenges. Finally, the study identified six techniques for developing virtual internationalization at Sharia colleges sector of Al-Azhar University in Cairo: leadership and governance, study programs, instruction and teaching, scientific research, faculty members and workers, and student support. Based on the results, the study developed a proposal for obtaining a competitive advantage at Sharia colleges sector of Al-Azhar University based on virtual internationalization.