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6.2 Quantitative Insights

47 of respondents, indicating that nearly half experience the pathway
to certification as insufficiently understandable or navigable. In Stern’s
terms, this is a personal capability limitation that restricts action even
when motivation exists and even when the external context is not en-
tirely prohibitive. Capability barriers typically produce a practical stall
point, organisations may be willing to adopt but are uncertain how to
proceed, which steps matter most, and how to translate existing practices
into formalised evidence.
Attitudinal constraints are present but clearly less dominant than con-
textual ones, which is itself theoretically meaningful. Limited knowledge
of benefits is reported by 57, indicating that a large share of respondents
perceive the business case for iso 21401 as unclear. In Stern’s framework,
this is an attitudinal factor because it reflects beliefs about benefits and
costs, not the physical ability to act. Two other attitudinal barriers further
qualify the adoption landscape. Forty two percent perceive the standard
as irrelevant to customers, and thirty four percent indicate that sustain-
ability is not at the core of their business. These values show that while
most firms are not primarily blocked by lack of interest, a substantial mi-
nority holds strategic views that reduce adoption likelihood regardless of
enabling conditions. This is important for interpreting the overall pat-
tern. Contextual and capability interventions can reduce friction and in-
crease feasibility, buttheywillnot fullyaddressadoptiongapswhere firms
do not perceive market demand or strategic relevance.
Two additional contextual barriers highlight the relational and market
embedded nature of iso 21401 adoption. The risk of private data dis-
closure is reported by 35, suggesting that trust and information secu-
rity concerns remain salient for a meaningful minority. Limits on sup-
plier sourcing are reported by 28, indicating that some firms antici-
pate supply chain inflexibility as a constraint. Both reinforce Stern’s em-
phasis that environmentally significant behaviour is situated in broader
networks of regulation, markets, and inter organisational dependencies.
Adoption decisions are shaped not only by internal operations but by per-
ceived exposure to external requirements, audits, and supply chain con-
straints.
Taken together, the table provides an empirically grounded explana-
tion for why sustainability awareness does not automatically translate
into formal iso 21401 adoption. The highest prevalence barriers are over-
whelmingly contextual and they cluster around time, staffing, costs, and
administrative burden. This implies that the main obstacle is not unwill-

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