Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize customer compliance behavior in regard
to a personal unsecured debt management program within the area of compliance
dependent services (CDS). CDS are services in which the customer participates in the
co-creation of the service while in the service facility and must comply with his or her
role once away from the service provider to ensure positive outcomes and customer
satisfaction (Dellande and Gilly, 1998). Such services typically entail a service delivery
process that is of longer duration, thus requiring long-term interactions between the
customer and provider. Examples of CDS include retirement planning, tax planning
services, weight loss programs, exercise programs, prenatal care, auto maintenance
programs, and debt management programs. There has not been a systematic
conceptualization or study of psychological, behavioral, and geographic factors which
contribute to our understanding of why individuals are successfully able to lower their
unsecured debt levels.