Page 114 - Sustaining Accommodation SMES

6Analysis

relevant barriers. While administrative complexity and documentation
requirements are still reported as relevant by some respondents, a larger
share report these barriers as having lower relevance compared to other
country contexts. Financial barriers are reported as highly relevant by a
smaller share of respondents, suggesting that economic constraints play
a less dominant role in shaping adoption decisions. Capacity-related bar-
riers, including lack of staff or expertise, also show lower relevance for
most respondents. Within Stern’s framework, this pattern indicates that
contextual and capacity constraints exert weaker limiting effects on en-
vironmentally significant behaviour in Greece. As a result, accommoda-
tion providers appear better positioned to translate existing sustainability
practices into formal iso 21401 adoption.
The Table 6.33 presents a cross Mediterranean analysis of perceived
barriers to iso 21401 adoption, reporting the share of respondents in
Slovenia, Italy, Spain, and Greece who identify each barrier as highly rele-
vant, alongside Chi-square tests of cross-country differences. Interpreted
through Stern’s theory of environmentally significant behaviour, the re-
sults provide insight into how different types of constraints shape the fea-
sibility of adopting a formal sustainability standard across national con-
texts.
At the cross Mediterranean level, the most prominent barriers are
those that increase the perceived effort and organisational cost of adop-
tion. Administrative burden, documentation requirements, and the com-
plexityof iso 21401 are identified as highlyrelevant byasubstantial
share of respondents across countries. These barriers represent contex-
tual constraints that raise the behavioural cost of environmentally signif-
icant organisational behaviour, making adoption difficult even in organ-
isations that already engage in sustainability practices. Financial barri-
ersalsoshowhighrelevance across theMediterranean sample,although
their intensity varies by country. Certification costs and uncertainty re-
garding economic benefits are frequently identified as highly relevant,
particularly in Italy and Slovenia. From Stern’s perspective, these barri-
ers increase the material cost of environmentally significant behaviour,
thereby limiting adoption where financial margins are constrained. The
Chi-square results indicate statistically significant cross-country differ-
ences for several cost-related barriers, suggesting that economic context
plays a key role in shaping adoption feasibility. Barriers related to or-
ganisational capacity, such as limited staff availability, lack of time, and
insufficient internal expertise, also emerge as important constraints. A

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