Digital Marketing, Competitive Advantage, and Madrasah Choice: Mediating Role of Stoic Rationality

Purpose: This study examines the role of Stoic rationality in prospective students’ school selection decisions and its mediating effects on the relationships between digital marketing, competitive advantage, and school selection decisions. Research Method: An explanatory quantitative approach was employed using PLS-SEM with SmartPLS 4. Data were collected through purposive sampling from 96 prospective students of MA Ma’arif 7 Sunan Drajat, Lamongan Regency. Results and Discussion: Digital marketing significantly enhances Stoic rationality but has no significant direct effect on school selection decisions. Competitive advantage positively influences both Stoic rationality and school selection decisions. Stoic rationality significantly influences school selection decisions, fully mediating the effect of digital marketing and partially mediating the effect of competitive advantage. Implications: The findings highlight rational evaluation as a mechanism linking institutional strategies to educational choices. Islamic schools should strengthen competitive differentiation and develop digital marketing that supports informed decisions. The single-institution setting and limited sample constrain generalizability. Originality: This study integrates Stoic rationality into educational choice research, demonstrating that digital marketing influences school selection indirectly through rational evaluation rather than directly.