<p>The economic concepts of competition, competitiveness, and competitive advantage, are increasingly being discussed in the higher education sector. The present article focuses on the quantitative measurement of the competitiveness of universities in Switzerland and worldwide in terms of research performance. Here, based on various economic definitions, competitiveness is defined as a trait, or the ability of universities to maintain their research performance and position, nationally and internationally. The latent state-trait model (LST), a measurement error approach in psychometrics, distinguishes between stable traits and states that change over time in longitudinal data statistically using latent variable models. According to the tanker (ship) hypothesis, universities behave like tankers on the high seas, which maintain their course despite adverse conditions and only change course very slowly. This study used data on 1,528 universities in the CWTS Leiden Ranking and examined their research performance in 5 ‘scientific areas’ as proxy for departments/faculties longitudinally over 14 time periods with four measurement replications each, divided into two samples (SWISS, ALL). About two thirds of the variability in research performance was due to differences between universities and countries, and one third was due to variability within universities, thus confirming the tanker hypothesis. Major changes over time were found at the level of departments.</p>