Employee Creativity and Competitive Advantage in Tanzania’s Higher Education Institutions

This study explores the effect of employee creativity in achieving competitive advantage in Tanzania's higher education institutions (HEIs), focusing on the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).It focuses on assessing how employee leadership style, job complexity, financial rewards/incentives, organization structure, roles, self-autonomous, work-related knowledge and approaches/strategies used influence the institution's ability to maintain a competitive edge.Using a descriptive survey design, data were collected from 299 academic staff through questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and ordered logistic regression.Results show that employee leadership style, Job complexity, financial reward/incentives, organizational structure, roles, self-autonomous, work-related knowledge and strategies/approaches significantly contribute to the competitive advantage of HEIs.The analysis revealed strong positive relationships between these factors and competitive advantage, underscoring their importance in enhancing institutional performance.This study extends human capital theory by highlighting the role of financial rewards/incentives and applies Herzberg's two-factor theory of motivation to an educational setting's competitive advantage, which has traditionally been explored less in this context.The findings underscore the need for HEIs to invest in continuous training and effective financial rewards/incentives that foster creativity to remain competitive.These insights are valuable for HEI administrators, HR professionals, and policymakers in Tanzania and other developing nations aiming to improve their educational institutions' competitive positioning in a global context.