Assessing the influence of inspirational value on experience quality and electronic word-of-mouth in non-formal music education settings in Indonesia

Non-formal music courses are currently experiencing rapid development in emerging countries, many young people are voluntarily taking music courses in addition to their formal education. With the increasing number of music courses, the level of competition is getting tougher putting marketing issues upfront. Unfortunately, research on consumer experience in the setting of marketing music courses owned by private parties is still limited. This study focuses on the examination of positive electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) behavior which supports the business performance from experience quality in music education institutions. To that end, this study applied the theory of perceived value and added a new proposed variable “inspirational value” to the combination of epistemic, emotional, sensorial, and social values. This quantitative survey study aimed to analyze the influences of perceived value on the experience and further the positive EWOM among music school students. Over two months, data was collected from 176 students of two music courses, to then be analyzed using the PLS-SEM method. As a new concept, inspirational value was determined as distinct from emotional value, where it more on appeals and driving factors arising from future orientation. The findings of the study emphasize the significance of sensory value in improving experience quality, followed by inspirational, epistemic, and emotional values. Furthermore, this study suggests that music courses should focus on creating inspiring, emotionally resonant experiences to foster positive EWOM that can support the marketing activity.