The Image Influence, Service Quality and Opinion Leadership on Students ' Decision of Choosing Study Programs through Word of Mouth and Customer Value

Kurniawan Gogi^*
*Correspondence: Kurniawan Gogi, Department of Marketing Management, Private Universities in Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia, Tel: 082132261603, Email:

Introduction

The study program is required to pay more attention to the quality of services that are better than the services provided, be able to increase the name or brand image and make opinion leadership both through the Word of mouth and the costumer value given to students as university users after taking their attitude and emotional decision. One of the higher education options that serve as a brand image. A several study programs at private tertiary institutions in Surabaya that have not received students in recent student recruitment; indicate that these universities are not able to compete in the broader higher education market both public and private. Competition is getting tighter again with the change in the shape of several public universities from institutes to universities or changes in legal status. The impact of these changes is very pronounced for the existence of private universities, namely the decline in the interest of prospective students to enroll in private universities. This is due to the increasing number of prospective student seats provided by state universities. The additional seats on the pretext of regular, nonregular, extension classes and so on are needed to extract funding sources for education for state universities that must operate autonomously. The image that exists in the community assumes that private tertiary institutions are second-class universities, also a negative image that affects the lack of interest in prospective students to study at private universities.

Lecture in a management study program, prospective students have the reason that the field of economics plays a vital role in everyday life in society, graduates of management study programs have a strategic role in later work, it is hoped that students will not be unemployed before getting a job. But economics graduates can work immediately after graduating from college. Most prospective students choose Management study programs that are in great demand and according to their abilities. Management science is the science of management which has many job opportunities that can be obtained if you study in a management study program, and can create your own job field. This is very important, considering that every year; Indonesia continues to have the problem of increasing the number of unemployed. Most of the new graduates always occupy a portion of the unemployed in Indonesia before they actually get a job.

Linkage to the phenomena mentioned above, that the decisions of prospective students to choose one of the study program management in Private Universities of the best is a perception in the process of alternative choices, whereas the universities in a sense less responsive to the perceptions of prospective students at the time of the decision process in choosing a college high. This is of course related to the services and facilities that are not available which are deemed incapable of influencing the interest of prospective students to choose existing universities. In other words, prospective students have understood and the future promise of a management study program that has service quality as well as an image and brand in a management study program at a private university is the decision of a prospective student who has chosen a brand.

The study program is required to pay more attention to the quality of services that are better than the services provided, be able to increase the name or brand image and make opinion leadership both through Word of Mouth and the costumer value given to students as university users after taking their attitude and emotional in deciding wrong a choice of higher education institutions that become its brand image.

The existence of several study programs at private universities in Surabaya that have not received students in the recent recruitment of new students, indicates that these universities are not able to compete in the broader higher education market both public and private. Competition is getting tighter again with the change in the shape of a number of state universities from institute to university or changes in legal status. The impact of these changes is very pronounced for the exhibition of the tendency of private universities, namely the decreasing interest of prospective students to enroll in private universities. This is due to the increasing number of prospective student seats provided by state universities. The additional seats on the pretext of regular, non-regular, extension classes and so on are needed to extract funding sources for education for state universities that must operate autonomously. The image that exists in the community assumes that private universities are second-class universities, also a negative image that affects the lack of interest in prospective students to study at private universities [1].

The decline in the number of new student admissions in several years can indicate that the image of private universities has decreased, so that prospective students do not believe in studying at private universities, especially quality issues. Efforts to improve the service quality system can be much more effective for the sustainability of the higher education business if the college understands the perceptions and desires of students. Theoretically, the process can provide a reference for this research, where service quality affects the decision to choose either directly or indirectly influences loyalty through Word of Mouth and customer value from students who choose one of the study programs and the indications show that there are great opportunities for growth a college. Therefore, this study uses Word of Mouth and customer value as a mediating variable to determine student decisions in choosing a management study program. Service quality and positive image will generate positive words as well. Therefore, companies must have a strong brand image, services and products that satisfy consumers, so as to create a Word of Mouth as effective marketing. Word of Mouth is also more quickly accepted as a reference.

Based on the aforementioned phenomena which are related to the theory of image, service quality, opinion leadership, word of mouth and customer value and consumer decisions to choose a management study program with several research gaps, it shows something that must be reexamined to examine the image of the management study program, quality. Service and opinion leadership on consumer decisions through word of mouth and customer value.

Materials and Methods

Operational definition of variables

The operational efficiencies of the variables used in this study are as follows:

The image of the study program is a view or description of a university with various activities in the eyes of the community with a good image of students on an object based on the knowledge, responses and experiences it has received. With Indi k ator, namely: personality, reputation, value, and identity [2].

Quality l ayanan is an attempt by a given college in a different way than its competitors on a real service to the expectations of students can receive benefits. With Indi k actor, reliability responsiveness assurance, Empathy, and Tangible [3].

Opinion leadership is someone from a university or student who actively filters, and shares information with close colleagues and others about the knowledge he has about higher education through interpersonal interactions. With Indi k ator, namely: the self-designing method, the stoichiometric method, the key informant method, and the Objective Method [4].

Customer value is a student's perception of the description of the study program after considering what he wants, and believes that the study program can provide benefits. With Indi k ator, namely consumption in value terms of quality, social values, emotional value.

Word of mouth is the delivery of information from the university and student personal recommendations to colleagues and people closest to the goodness of the university. With indicator of research namely: Saying positive things to others about the quality of the product; recommending a product to others who need advice or information on the desired product, encouraging friends or family to transact a product somewhere [5].

The student's decision to choose is a student's decision on the study program which includes determining what the choice will be and the student's decision to choose is obtained from previous activities. With Indi k ator of namely: recognition of the need, information search, and evaluation of alternatives, purchasing decisions, and behavior post purchase. [6-8].

Sampling technique

Population: Population is the whole or the number that is in the subject being studied but includes all the characteristics possessed by that subject, and is of interest to the researcher for research. The population in this study were students Tier One Program in Management Studies Program Accreditation rated "B" at the Private University that is in the city of Surabaya as much as 1 3 University, as many as 1 0 .5 10 students active by For lap Higher Education in No. v ember 201 5, students who are active in the IX who have not graduated.

Sample: The sample is part of the number and characteristics possessed by the population used as research subjects. Suggest that the best sample size for size multivariate is multiplied between 5-10 observations for each indicator to be estimated. Whereas in this study there were 24 indicators from 6 research variables, so the number of samples was determined using 8 observations of each indicator, so that the total to be used as the research sample was=24 x 8=192 respondents.

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM): This study was analyzed by SEM which is based on the evaluation of the interdependence relationship between variables. In practice, SEM can confirm a hypothetical model through empirical data, so it is often called confirmatory technique as opposed to exploratory factor analysis. The stages when conducting the analysis were also carried out direct tests of the validity and reliability of each construct or indicator [9]. This study aims to prove and analyze the effect of exogenous constructs on endogenous constructs. This construct is a latent variable formed by several indicators (observed variable). Therefore, to analyze the data in this study, SEM analysis techniques using the AMOS program were used in Table 1 and Figure 1.

Conclusions

Based on the results of the analysis and discussion in chapter 5 and chapter 6 previously, the results of this study can be concluded as follows:

1. The image of the study program has a significant effect on student decisions in choosing management study programs at private universities in Surabaya through word of mouth. This means that the image variable of the study program has a significant effect on word of mouth. Thus, the influence on the relationship between variables for the image of the study program, the better it brings positive things to the study program, the better the study program is chosen.

2. The image of the study program has a significant effect on student decisions in choosing a management study program at a private university in Surabaya through customer value. Thus, the effect on the relationship between variables for the image of the study program, the higher the social values shown by the study program to students, the higher the value of the students' sense of pride in having their chosen study program.

3. Service Quality significant effect on student's decision in choosing management courses at university private in Surabaya through word of mouth. Thus the effect on the relationship between variables for service quality, the better the responsiveness of the study program components, the better the information received by students for the services provided by the study program.

4. Service quality has a significant effect on student decisions in choosing management study programs at private universities in Surabaya through customer value. This means that the variable service quality has a significant effect on customer value. Thus the effect on the relationship between variables for service quality is getting better, supported by the value of quality that brings the good name of the study program, the better the services provided by the study program to students.

5. Opinion leadership has a significant effect on student decisions in choosing management study programs at private universities in Surabaya through word of mouth. This means that the opinion leadership variable has a significant effect on word of mouth. Thus the influence on the relationship between variables for opinion leadership, the better the response from students in obtaining the information offered by the study program, the better the student's attitude in deciding which course of choice is a priority.

6. Opinion leadership influences student decisions in choosing management study programs at private universities in Surabaya through customer value. Thus the influence on the relationship between variables for opinion leadership supports the needs of the academic community.

7. Opinion leadership affects student decisions in choosing a management study program at a private university in Surabaya through customer value. Thus the influence on the relationship between variables for customer value is higher, supported by the value of quality that provides the various needs of the activities of the academic community, the higher the students' scores on the civets of their study program.

Suggestion

Based on the results of this study, as a material consideration that can be conveyed through suggestions from researchers, namely:

The study program leader should emphasize the need for word of mouth and customer value which can indirectly influence the student's decision to choose the study program of his choice. Results significant influence over variable -variables studied were the image of course, the quality of service and leadership opinions via indicators that support the student's decision. Therefore, the third variable exogenous and two variable endogenous important to understand and well known benefits for students, others and society as well as to the course itself.

Efforts to examine the findings of the three variable exogenous and two variable endogenous is the factor that is needed because it can bring about a change in creating hope student or society in deciding on the course of his choice.

The study program leader should pay attention to the conditions in providing information in supporting student decisions in choosing the study program to be proud of.

The study program should be able to bring improvements and changes to the study program, especially in the image of the study program, service quality and opinion leadership to become student decisions after obtaining convincing and reliable information.

For further researchers, it is hoped that they can examine other factors that are not disclosed in this study and this research is expected to be used as a comparison by testing other factors.

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