Customer Compliance: an analysis of publications and a research agenda proposal

Customer Compliance: uma análise das publicações e proposição de uma agenda de pesquisa

ABSTRACT

Purpose  In addition to the renowned Customer Centricity Strategy, this article aims to analyze and understand the theme of Customer Compliance as another relationship strategy with the market in the context of contemporary marketing management. Additionally, it proposes a research agenda to drive the application and comprehension of this theme in society.

Design/methodology/approach  Bibliometric analysis and Systematic Literature Review using the Scopus and Web of Science databases.

Findings  The following results were obtained: (a) New business models, especially those involving e-commerce, seek to enhance and expand the adoption of customer compliance in their processes, (b) customer compliance is a topic that is being increasingly used in marketing and, consequently, is attracting more attention from academics for knowledge production about it, (c) customer compliance is a theme with strong interaction with the consumer behavior area, especially in the service sector, promoting value co-creation with companies through cost reduction sharing due to adherence to previously established processes.

Originality/value  This study presents a comprehensive analysis of customer compliance, outlining its definitions and key attributes. It also synthesizes theoretical and practical insights from relevant articles and explores three theoretical frameworks related to customer satisfaction, consumer-employee relationships, and customer behavior, along with research methodologies employed.

Customer compliance; Customer conformity; Customer centricity; Contemporary management

RESUMO

Objetivo  Complementarmente à reputada estratégia de centralidade no cliente (Customer Centricity), este artigo tem por objetivo analisar e compreender a temática de Customer Compliance que se apresenta como outra estratégia de relacionamento com o mercado no contexto da gestão contemporânea de marketing. Além disso, propõe-se uma agenda de pesquisa para impulsionar a aplicação e compreensão desse tema na sociedade.

Design/ Metodologia/ Abordagem  Análise bibliométrica e Revisão Sistemática da Literatura utilizando-se da base de dados Scopus e Web of Science.

Resultados  A partir da análise, tem-se como resultado: (a) novos modelos de negócios, especialmente aqueles envolvendo e-commerce, buscam aprimorar e expandir a adoção de customer compliance em seus processos, (b) customer compliance é um tema que está sendo cada vez mais utilizado em marketing e, consequentemente, está atraindo mais atenção dos acadêmicos para a produção de conhecimento sobre ele, (c) customer compliance é um tema com forte interação com a área de comportamento do consumidor, especialmente no setor de serviços, promovendo a co-criação de valor com as empresas por meio do compartilhamento da redução de custos devido à adesão a processos previamente estabelecidos.

Originalidade/ valor  Com base em uma revisão bibliográfica rigorosa, este estudo apresenta uma análise abrangente sobre customer compliance, delineando suas definições e atributos-chave. Também sintetiza insights teóricos e práticos de artigos relevantes e explora três estruturas teóricas relacionadas à satisfação do cliente, relacionamentos entre clientes e funcionários, e comportamento do cliente, juntamente com as metodologias de pesquisa empregadas.

Customer compliance; Conformidade do cliente; Customer centricity; Gestão contemporânea

1 Introduction

Since the marketing paradigm evolved from an initial product-focused perspective, later incorporating the sales perspective, and more recently expanding to the customer perspective, mainly through the concept of market orientation, the relationships that an organization establishes with its market, or more specifically with its customers, have gained relevance in both academic and business environments (Kasabov & Warlow, 2009, 2010).

The importance of the organization being market-oriented to generate superior results compared to the average of its sector is not in question, since it is a consensus both in academia and in the corporate environment (Jaworski & Kohli, 2017; Ozkaya, Droge, Hult, Calantone, & Ozkaya, 2015). As an advance of the Market Orientation theory, Customer Centricity is a theory that has been gaining importance among companies for its validity in understanding consumer expectations, as well as its ability to exceed them (Vlašić & Tutek, 2017). Since then, several authors have been debating its applications (Kasabov, 2016; Vlašić & Tutek, 2017; Ulaga, 2018; Shah, Rust, Parasuraman, Staelin, & Day, 2006; Reilly, 2018; Frankenberger, Weiblen, & Gassmann, 2013; Damázio, Soares, Shigaki, Gonçalves, & Mesquita, 2020).

However, a company that does not adopt customer centrality as a marketing strategy does not necessarily mean it is not market-oriented or customer-focused (Jaworski & Kohli, 2017; Teece, 2010; Norton & Naylor, 2009). It is possible to focus on the customer and make them satisfied without necessarily having to make processes more flexible (Park & Nite, 2023) to meet specific demands or even enable customer engagement platforms for co-creation and co-production processes. At this point, the concept of Customer Compliance emerges.

The theory of Customer Compliance aims to demonstrate that the consumer or customer participates in the processes of interaction and exchange with the company based on pre-established agreements between stakeholders, without exceeding expectations (Kasabov & Warlow, 2010; Jaworski & Kohli, 2017; Andespa, Yeni, Fernando & Sari, 2024). From the point of view of coherence and strategic consistency, this dynamic can be intricate for organizations that operate with the logic of operational excellence. Therefore, just as has been happening with the Customer Centricity theory, in Customer Compliance there are authors who, in an attempt to better understand this new theme, have developed their models (Dellande, Gilly, & Graham, 2004; Kasabov & Warlow, 2010; Lin & Hsieh, 2011; Teng, Zhang, Li, & Chen, 2020; Jiang, Xu, Cui, Zhang, & Yanf, 2019; Li, Zhang, Wang, & Guo, 2018).

Kasabov and Warlon (2010) observed that three tests were necessary for the proposed theoretical model to yield good results regarding the studied theory: (a) redundancy test, which requires a return to the literature to better understand it, (b) comprehension test, with a systematic and illustrative investigation, and (c) empirical applicability test, for discussion of the results found. At this point, the goal that is presented, unprecedented in the field of Administration in this article, is to analyze and understand the evolution of Customer Compliance theory in the literature and to document its trends. This objective will meet the first two requirements of Kasabov and Warlon (2010).

In addition to the renowned Customer Centricity Strategy, this article aims to analyze and understand the theme of Customer Compliance as another relationship strategy (Lin & Hsieh, 2011) with the market in the context of contemporary marketing management (Tang, Guo & Gruen, 2024). The research problem is as follows: how has the topic of customer compliance evolved in marketing literature?

Furthermore, this article has four specific objectives (a) to identify the growth of publications and concentration areas, (b) to identify authors who emerge as thought leaders in the literature, (c) to analyze the intellectual structure of the knowledge base on Customer Compliance, (d) to identify and analyze research topics that have received greater attention from the literature, based on the development of a research agenda.

The article is organized in the same sequence as the specific objectives presented. As this is a bibliometric analysis carried out concomitantly with the Systematic Literature Review, the method was discussed after this introduction, and the theory and results on Customer Compliance were presented throughout the study.

2 Method

This study was conducted based on the Scopus database, which has a greater number of journals compared to the Web of Science (Paul & Criado, 2020) and the Web of Science database for the quality and relevance of research sources. Both bases are important and valuable for the field of knowledge in Administration. For the research conducted in April 2024, the terms “Customer Compliance” and “Consumer Compliance” were used. The preliminary result is shown in the following table (Table 1). Out of the 31 articles, 17 were found in both databases and 14 were found only in Scopus. Regarding the Keywords, 17 articles were found with “Customer Compliance”, 13 with “Consumer Compliance” and 1 with both keywords.

Table 1
– Procedures, filters and paper selection

Research term	“Customer Compliance”
Database	SCOPUS and Web of Science
Document source	Full articles published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings
Research	Title, abstract and keywords
Results	108
Time horizon	1979 - 2024
Systematic reading and selection	Read and select of title, abstract, and full article, in that order.
Selection and evaluation criteria	Articles addressing the topic of Customer Compliance and Consumer Compliance in the context of contemporary marketing management.
Full articles reviewed	31 (28.7% of results)

There are different review methods in current literature such as bibliometric analysis, meta-analysis and systematic literature review (Donthu, Kumar, Mukherjee, Pandey & Lim, 2021). In this article, we utilized bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review. Donthu et al. (2021) show that there are two techniques for bibliometric analysis: performance analysis and science mapping. In the next two sections the performance analysis will be presented followed by the science mapping (5. Customer Compliance Intellectual structure). The purpose of the first analysis was to present publication and Citation metrics, while the second one demonstrates the relationship among publications and themes, with a co-word and co-citation analysis (Donthu et al., 2021).

The bibliometric analysis was conducted in two ways: (a) within the Scopus and Web of Science database, using the “analyze results” feature, and (b) using the VOSviewer software, which, as stated on its official website, is a “tool for constructing and visualizing bibliometric networks” (VOSviewer, 2021). In the network analysis, the advanced feature of the thesaurus tool was used to optimize the cluster network and avoid synonymous terms.

From this, the systematic literature review was initiated using the PRISMA protocol. This protocol is widely used in systematic reviews due to its numerous advantages. Amongs these, the ability to determine which articles will be included or excluded from the study stands out, as well as the facilitation of understanding the literature through rigorous review and analysis process (Andespa, Yeni, Fernando, & Sari, 2024).

Thus, the titles of the 108 articles obtained in the initial search were read and 74 selected for the next phase. After reading the abstracts, 36 articles were excluded for not meeting the selection and evaluation criteria, and 4 for being book chapters, which did not correspond to the document source criteria established, both described in Table 1. Thus, 34 articles were read in full. Also, 3 articles were excluded from the final sample for not corresponding to the pre-established selection and evaluation criteria.

The Content Analysis was conducted, following the steps suggested by Bardin (2011): (a) pre-analysis, with the organization of the material and elaboration of the analysis plan, (b) material exploration, consisting of a complete reading of the articles, breaking them down into codes and categories, (c) results from treatment, with evidence for the topics studied, with in-depth analysis and association between codes and categories, and (d) interpretation of results for theoretical purposes and proposition of a research agenda. The results were presented in the following sections.

3 Panorama and Growth of publications in Customer Compliance

The first article that mentioned the Customer Compliance theory was published in 1979 in the Journal of Psychology, entitled Influence of low-balling on buyers’ compliance and authored by Motes and Woodside (1979). In the following decade, Motes, Brown, Ezell, and Hudson (1986) published a revised version of this article in the Psychology & Marketing Journal. In the first article, the authors proposed the following research question: “Does low-balling increase Customer Compliance in retail settings?” (p. 219). In the second article, the question was complemented: “If it does work, potentially how serious a problem is low-balling to the consumer?” (p. 79).

In both articles, the authors conducted a real experiment on the sale of nail polish via low-balling, which is when “making an offer more than possible to deliver and revoking a central part of the offer after the target subject (e.g., buyer) accepts is commonly referred to as a low-ball” (Motes & Woodside, 1979, p. 219). With a sample of 80 and 160 people, respectively, the authors did not confirm that the technique produces a significant effect on Customer Compliance.

Despite these findings, these two studies were the first to be published on the subject, which was researched again only in 2000 (McCarthy & Fram, 2000). Since then, other articles have been found, indicating a growth in the number of publications. The most recent publications is by Andespa et al. (2024) and Tang, Guo e Gruen (2024). Figure 1 illustrates the growth of publications in Customer Compliance.

Figure 1
– Growth of publications in Customer Compliance

Regarding the concentration area of the articles, most of them are in the Business Administration field. The article by Bharti, Gratz and Fitzgerald (2022), Hadi and Valenzuela (2021), Wu and Cutright (2018), Hoeppner (2014) and Kronrod, Grinstein ad Wathieu (2012a,b) also belongs to the Economic field. The article by Motes et al. (1986) and Motes and Woodside (1979) also belongs to the Psychology field. While the articles by Henley and Fu (2019) and Webb and Byrd-Bredbenner (2015) belong to Medicine and Agriculture.

Regarding the countries of origin, 15were identified. From the analysis carried out in VOSviewer, there is a partnership relationship between China and Hong Kong, and between China and Finland. The United States of America (USA) has the largest number of articles published and, consequently, of citations. The USA presented a partnership with United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada and Israel that appear on the top of those that produce the most regarding papers in Customer and Consumer Compliance.

Is important to mention that no country from Latin America has published the Customer Compliance theme. This represents an opportunity for research considering factors that influence consumer behavior, such as culture, social, personal, financial, and psychological factors.

4 Most recurrent authors and relevant works

Stephanie Dellande has the largest number of publications about Customer and Consumer Compliance (Dellande & Saporoschenko, 2004; Dellande & Nyer, 2013, 20, 2007; Dellande et al., 2004; Dellande & Saporoschenko, 2004). Her article titled “Gaining Compliance and losing weight: The role of the service provider in health care services” is also the most cited in the Scopus database, with 222 mentions (Dellande et al., 2004).

Figure 2
– Most recurrent authors

Besides the most recurrent authors, the list of the six most cited articles is formed by Kronrod et al. (2012b) with 272 citations, followed by Dellande et al. (2004), as mentioned with 222 citations, Guo, Arnould, Gruen and Tang (2013) with 107 citations, and Kronrod et al. (2012a) with 87 citations. Lin and Hsieh (2011) and Breen (2006) appear in the ranking with 44 citations each.

Kronrod et al. (2012b) indicated that assertive language in social communication can be effective depending on the importance of the issue to the consumer. Considering that Costumer Compliance can also be understood as the degree to which consumers comply with requests or follow instructions from the organization, the authors highlight the concept of perceived importance as a critical moderator that can significantly influence consumer behavior.

Dellande et al. (2004) proposed a model in healthcare services, where Customer Compliance is a necessary condition for obtaining successful results by the company. The proposed model is composed of three parts: (a) characteristics of the service provider, explained by expertise, demographic homogeneity, and attitudinal homogeneity, (b) consumer attributes, explained by the clarity of the consumer’s role, consumer ability, consumer motivation, (c) consumer outcomes, explained by how Customer Compliance affects satisfaction and the organization’s service goal.

Guo et al. (2013) investigated the process of organizational socialization of the customer regarding personal health issues, developing and testing a model based on consumer socialization and co-prodution behavior. The research, conducted with 364 clients, indicated that compliance behavior was the most beneficial for both customer well-being and the satisfaction index with the organization.

Kronrod et al. (2012a) continued the study by examining the persuasiveness of assertive language, this time focusing on Nike’s slogan “Just do it”. They used the hedonic and utilitarian consumption theory and “specifically proposed that hedonic products are likely to prompt a positive mood, wich results in the expectation for, and acceptane of, a more direct and assertive communication style” (p. 58).

Lin and Hsieh (2011) developed a model to fill a research gap to explore the antecedents and consequences of Customer Compliance for services that require a high level of contact, that is when the company offers a range of support to its consumer to build mutual social benefits. The developed model is constituted of 11 hypotheses that permeate its 7 variables (provider’s social skills, provider’s customer orientation, provider’s expertise, friendly services, Customer Compliance (which interacts with all other variables), satisfaction, and anticipation of future interaction). All hypotheses were supported by the study. In this article, the concept of Customer Compliance is consistent with Dellande and Nyer (2013), regarding conformity, adaptation, and rules that consumers must follow.

Finally, Breen (2006) investigated the financial and operational impact of customer non-compliance on reverse logistics. Despite not proposing a model, the qualitative study focuses on two fronts, which are listed as originality by the author: Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C). The results indicate that the effectiveness of the reverse logistics system can be undermined by a lack of Customer Compliance, with losses of up to £140 million for the company, indicating greater implications for B2B relationships when compared to B2C.

5 Customer Compliance Intellectual structure

Co-word analysis allows the identification of terms in the given database that have occurred with higher frequency and consequently received more attention in the literature. Van Eck and Waltman (2014) clarify that the number of co-occurrences of two terms is the number of publications in which the two terms occur together in the title, abstract, or keyword list. Therefore, the keyword network was developed by co-word analysis using VOSviewer software and resulted in 5 clusters, named: Customer Compliance (blue cluster), Service (red cluster), Customer Behavior (green cluster), Relationship (yellow cluster), Customer Centricity (purple cluster) as illustrated in Figure 3. Keywords that are currently the most searched currently, as seen through a overlay visualization, are, motivation (red cluster), co-creation and conflict (blue cluster) which could potentially serve as hot topics for discussion on Customer Compliance.

Figure 3
– Keyword network

Figure 3 reveals that the cluster ‘Customer Compliance’ in blue, is related to the term’s conflict, co-creation and customer satisfaction. Jiang et al. (2019) article aimed to examine the impact of customer participation on behavior and satisfaction, using the stressor role as a moderator. The theoretical-empirical study conducted with 317 bank customers resulted in (a) increasing customer participation also increases the degree of inconsistency between expectations and perception of service offered, increasing ambiguity and conflict, (b) with increased ambiguity and conflict, there is an increase in customers’ behavioral and cognitive resistance to their participation in the process, reducing their participation in activities and Customer Compliance behavior, (c) if there is a reduction in Customer Compliance, coproduction efficiency will be impaired, (d) on the other hand, with all these results, there is a hypothesis (not confirmed) that an increase in co-creation activities engagement could increase customer satisfaction. The same authors (p. 699) define Customer Compliance as “the participating customers would strictly follow the role requirements and guidance from the service providers since the compliance behaviors are beneficial for goal achievement and desired outcomes.”

In addition, Jacob and Guéguen (2014) proposed to test the effect of compliments on customer acceptance of a waiter’s suggestion in a restaurant. They conducted a causal experimental study with 224 customers divided into three groups: (a) compliment and suggestion, (b) suggestion only, and (c) control group. As a conclusion, the authors found that when the customer receives a suggestion and compliment, there was an increase in dessert orders without them being previously offered to the customers.

The cluster Customer Behavior, in green, is related to co-production, information dissemination and decision making. Bharti et al. (2022) developed a compliance model focused on consumer well-being in the contexto of Covid-19 from the theoretical standpoint of consumer perception, complacency, and perceived ethically, starting from a conservative political ideology. “Communications that focus on choice (as opposed to restricted freedom), actions that reduce complacency, and messages that increase ethical sensitivity (without labeling the issue as one focused on ethics) may be effective” (Bharti et al., 2022, p.135). In the same way, Hadi and Valenzuela (2019) sought to investigate the experience individuals have with incidental device-delivered haptic feedback and noted that When it was accompanied by messages its possible to improve consumer performance.

Dellande and Nyer (2007, p. 664) aimed to “shed greater light on the factors that influence consumer compliance behavior” through an experiment with 96 subjects. As a result, the authors indicated that: (a) public commitment motivates individuals to engage in sustained compliance behavior, while the degree of compliance varies with the degree of publicity with which the commitment is declared, (b) actively participating in public commitment makes individuals evaluate the purpose of the act as being the most important, (c) susceptibility to normative influence is a moderator of the effect of public commitment on long-term conformity.

The service cluster is presented in red, with a direct relationship with customer behavior and customer compliance clusters. Li et al. (2018) address this point from the perspective of fuzzy requests, in a theoretical-empirical study with 309 consumers. The authors sought to identify the variables that influence Customer Compliance behavior, as follows: (a) the integration between the Theory of Planned Behavior with emotional response, and (b) evidence that expected technical quality, perceived reasonableness, perceived convenience, inertia, and negative emotion influence Customer Compliance.

An example of how these topics are interconnected is found in Tang et al. (2024) article. The authors developed a model of customer compliance with goal settings (motivation and customer compliance), goal achievement, and goal outcome (well-being and satisfaction). Furthermore, Wu an Cutright (2018) delved into the concepts of customer compliance and advertising, investigating how reminders of God affect participants, who associated God with unlimited support.

The customer centricity cluster, in purple, is exclusively associated with service, customer compliance, as well as with customer (dis)satisfaction. This topic is widely discussed by Kasabov and Warlow (2009, 2010). Kasabov and Warlow (2010) promoted a reflection on the change from the Customer Centricity model to the Customer Compliance Business Model (CCBM). The authors reaffirm the innovative aspect of the change, reinforce that the CCBM is not exclusively for digital businesses, and also suggest that the process is a primary item for understanding Customer Compliance.

Among these articles, only Kasabov and Warlow (2010) provided a clear path to understanding the concept of Customer Compliance, which is composed by: (a) process and interaction, with a high degree of control and standardization of interaction, self-help systems, and rigid rules to all complainants, (b) role of the consumer and employee, where employees are limited by the extensive use of online technology, as well as having control and discipline over script rules, (c) paths for the consumer to express dissatisfaction, based on previously used typologies and styles and, based on the individual action as an ineffective, (d) orientation towards long-term relationships, with financial predominance, without social and structural ties, without equity (value) in the relationship and service recovery paradox besides the questions about the relationship between satisfaction, purchase intention and profitability and, (e) market research and intelligence, in which it is assumed that complaints should be obtained in real-time, with the support of information technology tools, and with some use of the learning curve.

The relationship cluster, in yellow, is related to perceptions keyword. Teng et al. (2020) conducted a theoretical-empirical study with 45 interviews and 382 surveys with consumers, and two major contributions were identified: (a) organization employees should adopt communication approaches to meet customer requests, and (b) organization managers should train employees to improve the emotional well-being of customers. In the same way, Guo, Chen and Xu (2016) developed a model named consumer commitment model, with perceived alternatives, perceived organizational support, and consumers’ relationship investment as antecedentes, and intention to remain, compliance, individual iniciative, and civic virtue as consequents. “This study showed that relationship investments from both service organizations and consumers help forge consumers’ commitment to the service organization, which in turn promotes the consumer’s retention and coproduction behaviors” (Guo et al., 2016, p.385).

Albeit the term “Customer Compliance” has been recurrently employed in scholarly literature since the previous century, its conceptual elucidation has been notably absent (Table 2). Kasabov and Warlow (2010, p.701) initiated its definition by focusing on cost reduction for customers. Subsequently, Lin and Hsieh (2011, p.609), Guo et al. (2013, p.551), and Guo, Chen, and Xu (2016, p.383) provided further clarification, positing that Customer Compliance denotes the degree to which clients adhere to the instructions and counsel proffered by service providers, with the “compliance outcome” realized when clients adjust their behavior to align with the service process (Li et al., 2018, p.2). Recent scholarship (Jiang et al., 2019, p.5; Bharti et al., 2022, p.123; Tang et al., 2024, p.4) has reiterated this definition, emphasizing that Customer Compliance pertains to the expectation that clients comport themselves in accordance with the requirements and specifications stipulated by service providers.

Table 2
– Customer compliance conceptual

Autores	Descrição
Kasabov and Warlow (2010, p.701)	““Customer compliance” business model (CCBM) allows businesses to dispense with costly traditional service recovery and to pass the savings to their customers by lowering costs”
Lin and Hsieh (2011, p.609)	“In service contexts, customer compliance refers to the extent to which customers follow service providers’ instructions and advice (Hausman, 2004)”
Guo et al. (2013, p.551) Guo, et al. (2016, p.383)	“Compliance refers to consumers’ adherence to a service provider’s requests, policies, or procedures (Podsakoff et al. 2000; Morgan and Hunt 1994; Smith, Organ, and Near 1983), and it includes a respect for instructions and task completion (Graham 1991)”.
Li, et al. (2018, p.2)	“Compliance behaviour refers that customers follow frontline employees instructions, policies and procedures (Bowman et al., 2004; Kostopoulos et al., 2014). The “compliance outcome” is reached when customers adapt their behaviour to the service process (Wang et al., 2012)”
Jiang et al. (2019, p.5)	“Customer compliance refers to the notion that customers behave strictly according to role requirements and specifications as requested by service providers (Dellande et al., 2004)”
Bharti et al. (2022, p.123)	“Compliance is defined as accepting a request without protest, or silently accepting a request (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004)”
Tang et al. (2024, p, p.4)	“In a service program, compliance means that consumers follow the service provider’s suggestions and engage in behaviors that are instrumental in achieving their desired goals”

Additionally, Table 3 provides a comprehensive overview of the 31 scientific articles that have been published addressing the theme of customer compliance. Each article is examined across various key dimensions, including authors, purpose, theoretical implications, and managerial and practical implications. This curated compilation encapsulates a wide variety of research endeavors, offering insights into the intricate dynamics between service providers and customers, with a particular focus on understanding compliance behaviours and enhancing customer satisfaction. By scrutinising the theoretical foundations and practical applications elucidated within these articles, stakeholders in both academia and industry can gain valuable insights to inform their decision-making processes and advance their understanding of customer-provider interactions in service encounters.

Table 3
– Comprehensive overview (Continued)

#	Authors	Purpose	Theoretical implications	Managerial and practice implications	Cluster
1	Tang et al. (2024)	Present a goal-driven framework to explain the underlying motivational mechanisms of customer compliance and how compliance influences customers’ goal achievement as well as customer satisfaction and well-being.	Recognizing compliance as a goal-driven behavior. Moderatin effects of program goal progress. Impact on consumer well-being. Important implications for the Transformative Service Research.	Goal-driven approach for compliance enhancement. Engaging customers in compliance behaviors is also critical in enhancing customer satisfaction. Different emphases for customer well-being and satisfaction.	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
2	Andespa et al. (2024)	To investigate what past scholars have learned about Muslim consumer compliance behaviour in Islamic banks and identify what future research is needed.	Adaptation of the theory from previous literature related to Sharia customer compliance behavior. Mediation effects of behavioral intention factors.	Importance of the use of digital technology. Importance of continuous innovation.	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
3	Park et al. (2023)	To investigate whether and when the promotional attribution of fitness service providers’ competent features, qualifications, or/and service provision contributes to customers’ compliance with service instructions.	Enrichment of Performance Attribution Literature.	Developing strategies to encourage customers’ compliance with service instructions through performance attribution promotion.	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
#	Authors	Purpose	Theoretical implications	Managerial and practice implications	Cluster
4	Bharti et al. (2022)	To propose and to test a compliance model in the context of COVID-19 social distancing guidelines.	Structuring messages to reduce perceptions of limitations on freedom. Increasing compliance by reducing complacency. Focused messages based on moral consequence.	Applications of compliance model to other marketing environment concerns.	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
5	Hadi and Valenzuela (2021)	To explore how device-delivered haptic feedback may have the capability to augment consumer responses to certain consumerdirected communications.	Explored how incidental technology-mediated touch might impact consumer behavior and judgement. Developed a multidisciplinar theoretical framework.	Demonstrate that addin haptic feedback to text messages can improve consumer performance on related physical tasks.	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
6	Teng et al. (2020)	To explain customer compliance with employee fuzzy requests in service encounters from a self-determination theory perspective	Positive effects of identified and integrated regulations on customer compliance. Perceived autonomy support contributes to integrated regulation. Self-efficacy has a positive effect on integrated regulation. Customer-Employee Interactions.	Effects of need satisfaction and autonomous motivation on customer compliance. The need for service providers or employees to understand their customers’ psychological needs and motivations during service encounters.	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
7	Davey, Herbst, Johns, Parkinson, Russell-Bennett and Zainuddin (2020)	To explore how the microfoundation, Helath Locus of Control (HLOC), contributes to value co-creation via service-generated and self-generated activities in standardized screening services.	To develop of a holistic co-creation framework, the Dialogue, Acess, Risk-Benefit, Transparency and Execution framework (DART-E) of preventative co-creation health activities. Contextual nature of HLOC as a concept. Importance of emotion in service interactions for the co-creation of value	Internal HLOC influences participants’ value co-creating activities in the pre-service and post-service phases. Service managers should provide relevant information about the service process. The extended customer value co-creation activities reveal activities that delay participation in câncer screening vary based on differing levels of HLOC.	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
#	Authors	Purpose	Theoretical implications	Managerial and practice implications	Cluster
8	Jiang et al. (2019)	To examine the impact of customer participation on role behaviors and customer satisfaction. The mediating role of role stressors is also examined	Identifies the characteristics of customer participation from the perspectives of task role set. Effects of Customer Participation Width and Depth. Mediating Role of Customer Perceived Role Stressors.	Empirical support for the role of customers as “co-creators” by distinguishing customers’ creative behaviors from customer compliance. Positive effect of role stressors on customer satisfaction via customer creativity	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
9	Henley and Fu (2019)	To identifie, create, and teste the efficacy of educational material at farmers’ markets.	Highlights consumers’ lack of knowledge regarding food production. Used health literacy strategies that were appropriate for diverse audiences.	Target audience engagement with health literacy strategies. Promoting Unity with a neutral and inclusive visual representations.	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
10	Li et al. (2018)	To identify the underlying mechanism and enacting variables that influence customers’ compliance behaviour (i.e. positive outcome) to fuzzy requests.	The decision to comply or to refuse towards fuzzy requests from FLEs entails both rational and emotional components. Compliance behaviour as a response to fuzzy requests, extending the literature associated with customer compliance behaviour in service encounters. The study extends the definition of “fuzzy request” beyond previous work.	Suitable fuzzy requests from FLEs can effectively improve service efficiency or increase service capacity. FLEs should assess the importance of service outcomes before making fuzzy requests. Compliance with fuzzy requests should be recognized as part of customer participation and contribute positively to service outcomes.	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
#	Authors	Purpose	Theoretical implications	Managerial and practice implications	Cluster
11	Wu and Cutright (2018)	To explore how reminders of God affect consumer compliance with fear-based advertising.	They identified a key moderator of fear appeal effectiveness. The study extends research on religious coping. They provided some initial empirical evidence for how God support differs from that of other supportive entities, and the downstream consequences of those diferences. To understand the relationship between the God concept and consumer behavior.	Marketers should exercise caution in using fear appeals in situations where God may be salient to consumers	Customer compliance Service Customer behavior
12	Guo et al. (2016)	To develop a model of consumer commitment and tests it using survey data from consumer clients in a national debt management program in the U.S.	Focused on the critical role that consumers play in coproducing the service outcome. Affective commitment is the driver of individual initiative and civic virtue, whereas calculative commitment only drives intention to remain.	implications for service organizations where services are delivered in a continuous fashion and entail consumers’ high participation to be successful. To gain consumers’ compliance, provide physical, social and emotional support. To engage consumers in a higher level of coproduction, emotional bond becomes more consequential.	Customer compliance Relationship Customer behavior
13	Webb and Byrd-Bredbenner (2015)	Overcoming Consumer Inertia to Dietary Guidance	Consumers are autonomous decision-makers. Message effectiveness is realistic, consistente, positive, easy-to-understand, actionable and personalized.	Development of nutrition communication using a consumer-centric approach. Managers should prioritize the development of clear, simple and actionable nutrition messages.	Customer compliance Customer behavior
#	Authors	Purpose	Theoretical implications	Managerial and practice implications	Cluster
14	Jacob and Guéguen (2014)	To test the effect of compliments on the customers’ acceptance of their server’s food suggestion in a restaurant.	Behavioral effect of compliments could be explained by a positive perception of the ingratiator.	Practical strategy for increasing dessert orders: asking customers several questions about the meal and service before suggesting dessert options.	Customer compliance Relationship
15	Hoeppner (2014)	Showcase that cooling-off periods also establish the perverse incentive for the seller to increase consumer compliance to a level which outlasts the cooling-off period	Because of the psychological forces and transaction costs, a status-quo bias is created and consumers are less likely to withdraw from doorstep contracts.	A cooling-off period leads consumers to enter doorstep contracts as sellers exploit social interation rules like reciprocation and consistency. Compliance should be active and not passive.	Customer compliance Customer behavior
16	Dellande and Nyer (2013)	To shed greater light on the factors that influence consumer compliance behavior, e.g. SRF, in compliance dependent services (CDS).	Similar principles may apply to various services where consumers are required to engage in prescribed behaviors over the long term. Examining long-term customer compliance behavior.	Use the findings of this research project to find new ways to increase long-term customer compliance behavior.	Customer compliance Customer behavior
17	Guo et al. (2013)	To investigate the process of customer organizational socialization in these programs, how it may promote co-production behaviors, and thus enhance consumers’ well-being as well as satisfaction with the organization	Contribute to the literature of co-production, organizational socialization as well as consumer well-being. - Extend the research on consumer financial decision making. Complement previous research on consumer co-production. In complex and extended service encounters, consumers’ co-production behaviors including compliance and individual initiative contribute to their own satisfaction.	Providing consumers clear guidance and goals about how to perform effectively in the program may increase the likelihood of consumers’ compliance with credit counselors’ requests. When serving consumers with varying level of dependence on the organization, organizations’ socialization strategies should be different. Provide some implications for consumers who try to overcome their destructive habits and enhance their well-being.	Customer compliance Service
#	Authors	Purpose	Theoretical implications	Managerial and practice implications	Cluster
18	Kronrod et al. (2012a)	To examine the persuasiveness of assertive language (as in Nike’s slogan “Just do it”) as compared to nonassertive language (as in Microsoft’s slogan “Where do you want to go today?”).	Assertive language leads to higher compliance than nonassertive language with messages promoting hedonic products. Hedonic consumption moderates language’s effect on compliance for both hedonic and framed utilitatian products. Participants perceived the same imaginary brand name as belonging to a more hedonic product following an assertive message.	Assertive messages can be effective and nonassertive messages can be counterproductive, depending on how they meet consumers’ communication expectations.	Customer compliance
19	Kronrod et al. (2012b)	To show that the persuasiveness of assertive language depends on the perceived importance of the issue at hand.	Explain the surprising prevalence of assertive environmental messages in the media. When message receivers perceive an issue as important, they are affected more by assertive than nonassertive phrasing and are more willing to comply with the message.	x	Customer compliance
20	Guéguen, Jacob and Meineri (2011)	To test the Door-in-the-Face technique in a restaurant	A significant increase of orders in the three restaurants where the experiment was carried out.	Underscores the importance of proactively proposing tea or coffee to customers.	Customer Compliance Service
21	Lin and Hsieh (2011)	To develop and test a model to explore the antecedents and consequences of customer compliance in high-contact service settings.	Highlights the significance of customer compliance in high-contact service interactions, emphasizing its role in achieving better service outcomes. Pioneering study in services marketing by establishing a model that elucidates the customer compliance mechanism in general service environments.	Service managers can better understand and leverage this aspect to enhance overall service quality and customer satisfaction. Service managers are encouraged to foster the formation of customer compliance.	Customer behavior Customer Compliance Service
#	Authors	Purpose	Theoretical implications	Managerial and practice implications	Cluster
22	Kasabov and Warlow (2010)	To create and test a “customer-compliance business model” (CCBM) of service provision	Shedding light on a new model businesses: CCBM. Expands the scope of scholarly discourse and encourages critical examination of prevailing assumptions in the field.	Strategic decision-making for companies seeking to adapt to changing market dynamics and capitalize on emerging business models.	Service Customer Centricity
23	Kasabov and Warlow (2009)	To identify such new practices, link them to current marketing theory, and suggest implications for traditional businesses as well as academic research as the underlying theory is clearly inadequate and lags behind practitioner innovations.	Theoretical reflections on how CCBM models may evolve over time. Theoretical discussions surrounding market dynamics, innovation diffusion, and competitive strategies in the digital age.	Companies operating within this model are likely to experience rapid innovation and expansion, potentially reshaping industry landscapes. Small businesses may face challenges in competing with the scale and efficiency of CCBM models.	Service
24	Norton and Naylor (2009)	To investigate how compliance with a recommendation made by another consumer is affected by the amount of information provided about the reviewer and the perceived similarity of the reviewer	Participants perceived the reviewer in the ambiguous condition to be equally similar to themselves compared to the reviewer in the similar reviewer condition. When participants received a warning about the potential impact of the false consensus effect, they were significantly less likely to try the restaurant.	x	Customer behavior
25	Dellande and Nyer (2007)	To investigate the role of public commitment in gaining customer compliance in a long-term service (e.g., online education) where customer adherence to his/her role when away from the service provider is important in the successful delivery of the service.	Motivation as a crucial customer attribute for sustaining long-term compliance. Customer motivation can provide valuable insights into strategies for promoting sustained engagement and adherence to desired behaviors. Public commitment significantly impacts compliance behavior.	Impact of public commitment on compliance behavior have practical implications for service providers. Service providers can tailor their approaches to enhance engagement and foster desired behaviors effectively.	Customer compliance Service
#	Authors	Purpose	Theoretical implications	Managerial and practice implications	Cluster
26	Breen (2006)	To conduct an exploratory analysis into current industrial reverse logistics practice in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer relationships (B2C), and determine the financial and operational impact of customer non-compliance in returning distribution equipment back to their source	Non-compliance in reverse logistics carries tangible costs for manufacturers and distributors. Non-compliance as a significant issue within the industry.	The paper underscores the importance of acknowledging and addressing non-compliance issues within the industry.	Service Customer Compliance
27	Dellande et al. (2004)	This research provides and empirically tests a conceptualization of health care services in which customer compliance outside of the service organization is necessary for successful health outcomes.	Compliance leads to goal attainment. Compliance leads to satisfaction directly.	Service providers can enhance customer satisfaction by implementing measures to facilitate compliance with program requirements.	Customer Compliance Service Customer behavior
28	Dellande and Saporoschenki (2004)	Conceptualization of factors that influence the ability of individuals to reduce their personal unsecured debt levels, especially credit card debt	Customer compliance behavior in a personal unsecured debt management program. - Behavioral variables and psychological variables are discussed. The role of geographic and demographic explanatory variables in personal debt management program success are examined.	Financial regulators, policy makers and financial institutions can gain insights into debt recovery and reduction.	Customer Compliance Service Customer behavior
29	McCarthy and Fram (2000)	Determine, first, if penalties increase customer compliance, reduce customer loyalty, and/or increase negative word-of-mouth communications, and second, what factors may influence customer perceptions of penalty fairness.	While penalties may increase customer compliance, some customer conflict and other negative consequences are likely to follow the imposition of a penalty.	Understanding the Trade-offs of Penalty-based Enforcement.	Customer Compliance
#	Authors	Purpose	Theoretical implications	Managerial and practice implications	Cluster
30	Motes et al. (1986)	To test if low-ball strategy is effective in increasing customer compliance in real commercial settings	Importance of a theoretical disconfirmation. Warns to be careful with unscrupulous manipulation of unsuspecting consumers.	x	Customer Compliance
31	Motes and Woodside (1979)	To test if lowballing increase customer compliance in retail settings	Support for the predicted influence of low-balling on purchase behavior was not demonstrated.	x	Customer Compliance

• The focus of perspective 1 approaches the adoption of Customer Compliance concepts and practices as a retail market orientation whose incentives are directed towards promoting sales on a large scale, at low cost, and in the most standardized way possible. On the other hand, perspective 2 derives from the first one and advances in the theme through service co-production (Auh et al. et al., 2007), as well as obtaining customer satisfaction with the service provided (Guenzi & Pelloni, 2004), even with previously established rules. Simultaneously, perspective 3 makes a significant contribution to our comprehension of consumer behavior and research methodologies, which together shape the interaction between the other two perspectives.

Regarding the references co-citation network used by the authors, out of 1.695 references cited, 38 were cited at least twice (Table 4). The table was divided into three groups, according to the result of the VOSviewer, characterizing the possible theoretical perspectives: (a) perspective 1, which deals with satisfaction and motivation, with specificities for service, customer focus and interpersonal relationship, (b) perspective 2, which deals with co-production and loyalty, shedding light on the influence of service provided by employees and an attempt to propose a value for actors involved, and (c) perspective 3, which contribute to our understanding of psychology, research methodologies and the dynamics of service delivery.

Table 4
– Co-citation networks and perspectives definition

Group	#	Reference
Perspective 1	1	Bandura, A., (1977). Self-efficacy: towards a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215
	2	Bowman, D., Heilman, C.M., & Seetharaman, P.B. (2004). Determinants of product-use compliance behavior. Journal of Marketing Research, 41(3), 324-338
	3	Crosby L.A., Evans K.R., & Cowles D. (1990). Relationship quality in services selling: an interpersonal influence perspective. Journal of Marketing, 54(3), 68-81.
	4	Dellande, S., Gilly, M.C., & Graham, J.L. (2004). Gaining compliance and losing weight: the role of the service provider in health care services. Journal of Marketing, 68(3), 78-91
	5	Fornell C., & Larcker D.F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50.
	6	Gilly, M.C., Graham, J.L., Wolfinbarger, M.F., & Yale, L.J. (1998). A dyadic study of interpersonal information Search. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 26(2), 83-100
	7	Guenzi P., & Pelloni O. (2004). The impact of interpersonal relationships on customer satisfaction and loyalty to the service provider. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15(4), 365-384.
	8	Kellogg, D.L., Youngdahl, W.E., & Bowen, D.E. (1997). On the relationship between customer participation and satisfaction: two frameworks. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 8(3), 206-215
	9	Mills, P.K., Chase, R.B., & Margulies, N. (1983). Motivating the client/employee system as a service production strategy. Academy of Management Review, 8(2), 301-310
	10	Oliver, R.L., & Swan, J.E. (1989). Consumer perceptions of interpersonal equity and satisfaction in transactions: a field survey approach. Journal of Marketing, 53(2), 21-35
Perspective 2	1	Auh, S., Bell, S.J., Mcleod, C.S., & Shih, E. (2007). Co-production and customer loyalty in financial services. Journal of Retailing, 83(3), 359-370
	2	Dellande, S., & Gilly, M.C. (1998). Gaining customer compliance in services. Advances in Services Marketing and Management, 7, 265-292
	3	Hartline, M.D., & Ferrell, O.C. (1996). The management of customer-contact service employees: an empirical investigation. Journal of Marketing, 60(4), 52-70
	4	Kelley S.W., Donnelly J.H., & Skinner S.J. (1990). Customer participation in service production and delivery. Journal of Retailing, 66(3), 315-335.
	5	Lin, J.S.C., & Hsieh, C.C. (2011). Modeling service friendship and customer compliance in high-contact service relationships. Journal of Service Management, 22(5), 607-631
	6	Vargo, S.L., & Lusch, R.F. (2008). Service-dominant logic: continuing the Evolution. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36 (1), 1-10
Group	#	Reference
Perspective 3	1	Anderson J.C., & Gerbing D.W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411-423.
	2	Armstrong S.J., & Overton T.S. (1977). Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys. Journal of Marketing Research, 14(3), 396-402.
	3	Baumeister R.F., Heatherton T.F., & Tice D.M. (1994). Losing control: how and why people fail at self-regulation
	4	Bendapudi N., & Leone R.P. (2003). Psychological implications of customer participation in co-production. Journal of Marketing, 67(1), 14-28.
	5	Bettencourt L.A. (1997). Customer voluntary performance: customers as partners in service delivery. Journal of Retailing, 73(3), 383-406.
	6	Bollen K.A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables
	7	Kelley S.W., Skinner S.J., & Donnelly J.H. (1992). Organizational socialization of service customers. Journal of Business Research, 25(3), 197-214.
	8	Lyubomirsky S., Sheldon K.M., & Schkade D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: the architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111-131.
	9	Sweeney J.C., Danaher T.S., & Mccoll-Kennedy J.R. (2015). Customer effort in value cocreation activities: improving quality of life and behavioral intentions of health care customers. Journal of Service Research, 18(3), 318-335.

6 Research Agenda

Out of the 31 publications analyzed in this article, 23 journals were identified, and only 8 published two articles: (a) Advances in Consumer Research (Norton & Naylor, 2009; Dellande & Nyer, 2007), (b) International Journal of Bank Marketing (Dellande & Saporoschenko, 2004; Jiang et al., 2019), (c) International Journal of Hospitality Management (Guéguen et al., 2011; Jacob & Guéguen, 2014), (d) Journal of Consumer Research (Hadi & Valenzuela, 2021; Kronrod et al., 2012b), (e) Journal of Marketing (Kronrod et al., 2012a; Dellande et al., 2004), (f) Journal of Service Theory and Practice (Park, Lee, & Nite, 2023; Davey et al., 2020), (g) Journal of Services Marketing (McCarthy & Fram, 2000; Li et al., 2018), and (h) Management Research Review (Dellande & Nyer, 2013; Breen, 2006). It should be noted that Breen’s article (2006) was published in Management Research News, which was later renamed Management Research Review.

The research agenda was developed through two sources of information: (a) analysis of the call for papers of all journals that were published on Customer or Consumer Compliance (Table 5) and (b) analysis of the future research directions suggested by the 17 publications (Table 6).

Table 5
– Calls for papers

Journals	Call for papers
International Journal of Bank Marketing	Greenwashing: managerial and financial perspectives in the context of uncertainty
Journal of Marketing	Expanding the Boundaries: Marketing as a Multidisciplinary Knowledge Creation Engine
Journal of Service Theory and Practice	Service Marketing for Good Craftin immersive service experiences: bridging fiction and reality The role of AI and XR in reshaping customer-provider interactions in cultural ecosystem services Business model innovation and transformation towards net zero in digital services: theoretical foundations and industry implications
European Journal of Marketing	Reinventing Marketing in a disruptive economy
Journal of Business Research	Improving ESG Performance through Global Value Creation Enhancing Consumer Wellbeing with Immersive Technologies Serving (with) the “invisibles” in the age of Artificial Intelligence In-Store Technologies Strength-Based Approaches to Customer Vulnerability: Implications for Service Research and Practice
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services	The Impact of Metaverse On Online Retailing The Evolution of Retail Careers
Psychology & Marketing	Navigating the Human-Machine Boundary: The Rise of Emotive AI The Consumer Psychology of Ethics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Advancing meta-analysis methodology in consumer psychology and marketing
Service Business	Metaverse: Concept, Potential, Application, and Success in the Service Industry Innovation, Future of Work, and Economic Growth

Table 6
– Suggestions for future work

Authors	Suggestions
Tang et al. (2024)	To employ diversified service programs to examine the generalizability of the findings. To access the objetive measures of oal achievement. To bring different theories and perspectives to shed new light in customer compliance theory.
Andespa et al. (2024)	To test the research model building by the authors.
Authors	Suggestions
Park et al. (2023)	To study population diversity, with a suggestion to develop an experiment with a real stimulus. To Measure the attribution of performance in different contexts.
Teng et al. (2020)	Longitudinal studies investigating Customer Compliance for other service modalities.
Davey et al. (2020)	Impirically test the influence of Locus of Control on willingness to co-create and the types of activities co-created.
Jiang et al. (2019)	To analyze the performance of the stress attribute in hedonic values.
Henley and Fu	Compare washing knowledge and safe food handling behaviors between smooth, rough, leafy greens, and root commodities.
Li et al. (2018)	To investigate social and situational factors such as business ethics, relationship, and time pressure.
Wu and Cutright (2018)	Investigation of belief as a moderator and the role of religious affiliation. Test the interaction with response and self-efficacy. To consider multiple processes.
Jacob and Guéguen (2014)	To analyze the effect of compliments on employees and their perception of customers.
Hoeppner (2014)	To examine ways to achieve Customer Compliance across different industries. To analyze whether cautions subjects are persuaded with promotions. To understand consumer behavior with long-term services.
Dellande and Nyer (2013)	To examine ways to achieve consumer compliance in other Compliance Dependent Services context
Guo et al. (2013)	Longitudinal design.
Lin and Hsieh (2011)	To explore the impact of Customer Compliance antecedents and consequences.
Kasabov and Warlow (2010)	To test and validate the proposed model.
Kasabov and Warlow (2009)	To expand the literature review. To analyze companies that failed in Customer Compliance.
Dellande and Nyer (2007)	To analyze the handling of public commitment in assessing the behavior. To investigate and validate the role of public commitment in Customer Compliance.
Breen (2006)	To detail the costs of current reverse logistic systems.
Dellande and Saporoschenki (2004)	To conduct longitudinal studies of personal debt management.
McCarthy andFram (2000)	To use the theory of justice for studies on Customer Compliance.
Motes et al. (1986)	To conduct research Applied to the target audience.

The calls for papers highlighted in Table 5, for the most part, present an agenda with significant adherence to the Customer Compliance theme in the Marketing field, although there is no direct citation of it. It is possible to verify that these calls for papers address marketing phenomena with an emphasis on (a) a new service delivery (Heinonen & Strandvik, 2021) considering the entire ecosystem, (b) restrictions imposed by the epidemiological context of COVID-19, mainly regarding diversity and social issues (Bharti et al., 2022; He & Harris, 2020), (c) digital technologies of industry 4.0 such as metaverse and artificial intelligence (Hadi & Valenzuela, 2021; Vlačić, Corbo, Csota, & Dabić, 2021; Kasabov & Warlow, 2010), (d) the new consumer behavior (Sheth, 2020), mainly related to engagement and adaptation, (e) financial impact (Andespa et al., 2024; Breen, 2006), (f) and service marketing for good (Hadi & Valenzuela, 2021; Davey et al., 2020; Henley & Fu, 2019).

This emphasis intertwines with the Customer Compliance theme by provoking a need for innovation in the consumer journey (Wang. Hon, Li, & Goa, 2020), due to the reconfiguration of demand. Therefore, it becomes necessary to create new value propositions (Kristensson, 2019) with a greater possibility of agreement from consumers and clients in the co-production service, as well as in accepting the limitations imposed by the algorithms adopted in machines and artificial intelligence during the use of services.

As a proposition for a research agenda, Table 6 was elaborated to present suggestions for future work indicated by the authors of the 31 analyzed articles.

The suggestions for future work presented in Table 6 reveal a series of other research opportunities. Conducting longitudinal studies (Dellande & Saporoschenki, 2004; Guo et al., 2013; Teng et al., 2020) is one of the most highlighted issues to ensure that the results are not considered isolated facts that only represent the specific moment (Kasabov & Warlow, 2009). Another noteworthy point is the recommendation to conduct Costumer Compliance studies in different sectors of the economy (Tang et al., 2024; Dellande & Nyer, 2013; Teng et al., 2020), which allows us to verify which companies or sectors fail to adopt Customer Compliance. Regarding the theory of Customer Compliance, Lin and Hsieh (2011) emphasize the need to explore the impact of its antecedents and consequences. In its organizational aspect, the theme still lacks studies on consumer behavior in long-term services (Dellande & Nyer, 2013), co-creation (Davey et al., 2020), religion (Wu & Cutright, 2018) social and situational factors (Li et al., 2018), the use of justice theory (McCarthy & Fram, 2000), and the role of public commitment (Dellande & Nyer, 2007).

7 Conclusion

This paper’s purpose, to analyze and understand the evolution of Customer Compliance in literature, and document and analyze research trends in this field of knowledge, was achieved. The study presented, in a detailed and unprecedented manner, a review of the Customer Compliance theme by identifying the number, growth, and geographical distribution of scientific production, as well as the authors who emerge as thought leaders in this area. Additionally, the study also included analyses of the intellectual structure base on Customer Compliance, the main journals publishing, and a research agenda.

The analyses developed to reveal that the theme is still incipient in the literature, with little academic production when compared to the Customer Centricity theme. However, interest in the theme has been growing since the beginning of the current century. It should also be noted that no articles from Latin American countries were identified, which represents an opportunity for discussion. The contributions of the analyzed articles indicate that Customer Compliance is strengthening as a necessary condition for companies to obtain successful results and that it presupposes a process with a high degree of control and standardization of interaction with customers, with rigid rules standardized for all stakeholders involved, while still focusing on the customer. This contributes to explaining that the concept of market orientation accommodates both perspectives: Customer Compliance, with standardized processes, and Customer Centricity, with more flexible processes.

This study presents one limitation regarding the use of only two databases. As a suggestion for future work, the current research agenda on themes related to Customer Compliance suggests that studies advance towards developing longitudinal studies and also analyzing ways to achieve Customer Compliance in different sectors, exploring more the relationship between the concepts of market orientation, Customer Centricity, and Customer Compliance.

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Edited by

• Edited by:
  Jordana Marques Kneipp

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  10 Jan 2025
• Date of issue
  Nov 2024

History

• Received
  26 Apr 2023
• Accepted
  20 July 2024
• Published
  29 Oct 2024