To elaborate a little based only on my own limited experience as a consumer....
In Canada (home) and the U.S. (current legal alien), there are things called credit reporting agencies (different per country; names like Trans Union, Equifax, Experien). A surprising array of businesses, including e.g. lenders, utilities companies, etc, buy reports from these credit reporting agencies, and also report to them on your behaviour. As far as I know this reporting on you is completely voluntary for these companies (maybe it gets them a price break on the reports they buy, but I think I heard once at an old job that they actually PAY to make reports), but it makes sense in terms of their self-interest, because it disincents their customers from cheating them. Plus, revenge may or may not be game-theoretically advantageous, but you should see how personal accounts-receivable clerks take it when you don't pay.
As mentioned, the reporting agencies will generate reports on you. You can get these for free for yourself (or for a fee if you want convenience). Companies can also request these on you, I believe only with your permission (which of course would be very easy to forge). If you've never seen your own report, you should find the agencies in your jurisdiction, figure out if you're entitled to a free report, and jump through the hoops just to see what it says about you.
The report includes lots of stalkery facts about you, like your residence history, everyone who reported that you paid bills to them, and so on. It'll probably be only mostly-accurate. For example, I've lived in ten places in the last 15 years, and only about half of them are on my credit report. Also, phone numbers I hadn't used in 5 years were still listed as being mine, but being "closed". Weird. It also includes how often, according to each reporter, you were behind on your bills, by how much, as well as the max balance you carried, the average balance you ran, etc. My report says I was once 30 days behind on one of my student loans, which ... . You can easily imagine how that sort of summary might be interesting to someone considering lending you money or extending you credit.
Credit bureaus will also generate a single numerical score about you. I dunno what idiot would use this scalar score to make a decision about you, but maybe some businesses do. But businesses certainly aren't restricted to a one-dimensional metric of your desireability as a customer.
Now. As mchanson points out, different lenders may have different goals. Mortgage providers want to see that you're gonna take your debts seriously. Credit card companies might like you better if they know that you do pay in the end, but before doing so you tend to get into enough trouble that you make a lot of interest payments. Whatever. That said, MY credit reports haven't ever had any information on them that could have allowed a prospective lender to notice that I cancelled an annual-fee credit card on month 11, preventing me from paying fees.