{"id":1386,"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","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["conversion-rate","behavioral-economics","interactive-tool-mechanisms"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Tam & Ho (2006), *Information Systems Research*: **content relevance and self-reference mediate the effect of web personalization on attention, cognitive processing, and decisions**; users clicked self-referent offers **far more often** than non-self-referent offers.\n\n**Source:** Tam & Ho (2006), ISR.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified — peer-reviewed, **web context** (strong fit for the SMB-tool case).\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Direct empirical bridge from lab self-reference work to web-tool behaviour. The single most-citable academic anchor for \"personalized output beats generic copy on websites.\" Anchors [[rule-maximise-self-relevance-in-output]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"symons-johnson-1997-self-reference-meta","title":"Symons & Johnson (1997) meta-analysis — self-reference effect: information encoded in relation to the self is better recalled; the self is a well-developed elaboration construct","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-interactive-tool-mechanisms-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: why interactive tools deepen a business's relationship with its audience — a mechanism-level research package (June 2026)","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":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-lead-mechanism-case-not-vendor-stats","title":"R1 — When recommending an interactive tool, LEAD on peer-reviewed mechanism evidence (goal-gradient, self-reference, IKEA, reciprocity, anchoring) — NOT vendor \"2× / 47% / 16.9×\" stats","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-maximise-self-relevance-in-output","title":"R3 — Maximise self-relevance in the output: show the user's own number, not \"people like you average X\"; the personalization mechanism is the best-evidenced lever in the brief","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"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","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-20T18:18:57.508Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T18:18:57.508Z"}