2016 2 nd International Conference on Social Science and Development (ICSSD 2016) ISBN: 978-1-60595-356-4 A Proposal Research Framework of Competitive Advantage for Vocational Colleges in Undeveloped Areas of China Yong ZHANG 1,a,* , Amirmudin UDIN 1,b , Yusri KAMIN 2,b and Noriadah Abdul KARIM 2,c 1 Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang, Guizhou, China, 550004; 2 Education Faculty, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia 2 Education Faculty, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia a billzhangy@gmail.com, b p-amir@utm.my c rohinjunior@gmail.com *Corresponding author Keywords: Competitive Advantage, Knowledge-based Resources, Dynamic Capabilities, Vocational Colleges, Research Framework Abstract. Competitive advantage is one of the most important and valuable advantage that ensure an organization to achieve success, and to keep a long-term prosperity. Competitive advantage plays a vital role for an organization within the market competition as it is resulting from an interaction of the crucial resources and dynamic capabilities. This paper aims to present a new perspective of researching competitive advantage via specific knowledge-based resources for vocational colleges in undeveloped areas of China. The new perspective research framework integrated three traditional theories in terms of knowledge-based view, Porters’ generic competitive advantage, and dynamic capability view, and qualitative findings of perceptions from 10 experts in vocational education or strategic management field. Eventually the paper reoriented the components of tangible and intangible resources, dynamic capabilities, also sheds light on how these independent variables effect on competitive advantage of vocational colleges in undeveloped areas of China. Accordingly, the results support a proposal empirical structured model of competitive advantage that would contribute for managers of vocational college or further empirical study. Introduction Competitive advantage (CA) is frequently defined the best indicator of an organisation’s sustainable prosperity and strength to keep long-term competitiveness [1, 2, 3]. The theory of CA originated in the 1950s, and gained popularity in the 1980s. Currently, CA is constantly evolving as both an academic discipline and as a reflection of an organisation’s management practice. In general, the fundamental question for CA is how organizations compete in order to achieve and sustain competitive advantage in the marketplace that is not only unique and valuable but also difficult for competitors to copy or substitute. Top mangers confront this question by developing the dynamic capabilities and renewing relevant resources in circumstance of rapid change [4, 5]. Dating back to the 1980s, colleges and universities began to notice the importance of resources and capabilities as rational sources for gaining CA [6]. Interestingly, technical and vocational colleges (TVC) now widely utilize multidisciplinary sciences to gain CA and maintain sustainable development in very dynamic higher vocational education world [7, 8]. When turned the spectrum on Chinese vocational colleges, since 2009, Chinese higher vocational education has greatly developed with the large-scale expansion of TVCs, especially in undeveloped areas. The 2013 statistical report by the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NSBC) showed that the number of TVCs reflected a growth rate of around 10% per year. Moreover, the growth rate of TVCs and TVCs enrolments in undeveloped areas was relatively higher than in developed areas. However, in most undeveloped provinces (e.g. Guizhou, Qinghai, Yunnan, Sichuan etc.) of China, the competitiveness compared with developed provinces(e.g. Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shandong, etc.) was still very low [7]. On the other side, based on the newest national development plan, by