The Influence of Electronic Word of Mouth (e-WOM), Scholarship Programs and Content Marketing on the Decision to Study at Darul ‘Ulum Islamic University, Lamongan Through Brand Image as an Intervening Variable
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55208/jebe.v19i2.01Keywords:
lectronic Word of Mouth, e-WOM, Scholarship Programs, Content Marketing, Decision to Study, Brand Image, Intervening VariableAbstract
Darul ‘Ulum Islamic University (UNISDA) stands as the first private higher education institution in Lamongan Regency and ranks among the oldest universities in East Java. Situated at Jalan Airlangga 03 Sukodadi, UNISDA was initially established in 1985 as a study group and has continued to develop amid globalization and rapid technological progress. To enhance the interest of prospective students, UNISDA has adopted strategies that emphasize electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), scholarship initiatives, and content marketing. This research investigates how these three factors affect students’ decisions to enroll at UNISDA Lamongan. Data were collected via questionnaires from 90 respondents who were recipients of the KIP Kuliah scholarship and active users of social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. The data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 26. The findings indicate that e-WOM, scholarship programs, and content marketing all significantly influence students’ decisions to pursue higher education. However, brand image only served as a mediating variable in the relationship between content marketing and the decision to study; it did not mediate the effects of e-WOM or scholarship programs. There was a notably strong indirect effect of scholarship programs and content marketing on decision-making through brand image. Based on these results, it is recommended that UNISDA further optimize its e-WOM strategies, enhance scholarship offerings, and improve the quality of content marketing to better attract new prospective students.
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