Implementing Social Sustainability in Amicable Consumer Debt Collection Strategies in Finland

Abstract

The debt-related issues have increased recently and are still growing in Finland. Reasons for debt exposure might be various, such as long-term sickness or unemployment. Moreover, it has been studied that debt and financial issues cause mental illness for debtors. Therefore, creditors and debt collection agencies must consider social sustainability topics in their operations and strategies. This research is about implementing social sustainability in Finland's amicable consumer debt collection strategies. First, the current state of the Finnish debt collection industry was investigated, and the five biggest (turnover) debt collection agencies were selected. Their websites and social media were researched, considering social sustainability aspects. Moreover, two questionnaires were conducted: one with a collection agency and one with an expert from the debt collection industry. The recommendations for the debt collection agencies to improve were presented based on theory, public sources, and questionnaires. One of the challenges in implementing social sustainability in amicable consumer debt collection strategies seems to be a lack of awareness and education. In the end, it was recommended that the collection agencies, for example, implicate socially sustainable principles in their values and invest in educating the staff.