{"id":1428,"slug":"sundar-marathe-2010-personalization-vs-customization-agency","title":"Sundar & Marathe (2010), Human Communication Research — customization (user acts) vs personalization (system acts): the appeal of customization is tied to the user's sense of agency","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["customer-facing-tools","interactive-tool-mechanisms","self-determination-theory"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** **Sundar & Marathe (2010), \"Personalization versus Customization,\" *Human Communication Research* 36(3), 298-322.** User-tailored (\"**customization**,\" where the user acts) vs. system-tailored (\"**personalization**,\" where the system acts) — the appeal of customization is tied to the **user's sense of agency**; \"power users\" rated customisable interfaces higher.\n\n**Source:** Sundar & Marathe (2010), HCR.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified — directly relevant HCI evidence.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Isolates ***doing it yourself* as the engaging element.** Bridges SDT (autonomy/competence) directly into tool-design terms. Reinforces [[de-keyzer-2025-personalized-advertising-meta]] from Brief E — *actual* personalization (user-supplied input) beats *system-supplied* personalization on the agency dimension specifically.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"tam-ho-2006-web-personalization-mediation","title":"Tam & Ho (2006), Information Systems Research — content relevance + self-reference mediate the effect of web personalization on attention, processing, decisions; users clicked self-referent offers far more","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"de-keyzer-2025-personalized-advertising-meta","title":"De Keyzer et al. (2025), Journal of Advertising — meta-analysis: actual personalization outperforms imagined / scenario personalization via stronger self-referencing and perceived relevance","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"deci-ryan-2000-self-determination-theory-foundational","title":"Deci & Ryan (1985, 2000) Self-Determination Theory — intrinsic motivation supported by three needs: autonomy + competence + relatedness","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-engagement-mechanisms-top-up-smb-june-2026","title":"Research notes (capture-layer top-up): why interactive online tools are psychologically engaging — six additional mechanisms (June 2026)","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-support-agency-and-competence-not-choice-overload","title":"R3 — Support agency + competence (2-4 meaningful choices + positive contextual feedback); avoid choice overload and frustration; let the user DO the work","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-20T19:24:15.934Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T19:24:15.934Z"}