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6.2 Quantitative Insights

practice, quantitative analysis is essential for establishing scale, compa-
rability, and patterns across a wider population. This section therefore
complements the preceding qualitative findings by examining the extent
to which sustainability practices, readiness for iso 21401, perceived bar-
riers, and identified needs are distributed across accommodation smes
in the Mediterranean.
The quantitative analysis serves three interrelated purposes. First,
it establishes a measurable baseline of sustainability implementation
across the environmental, socio-cultural, and economic dimensions of
the Triple Bottom Line. Second, it assesses the degree of organisational
readiness for adopting iso 21401 as a structured sustainability manage-
ment system. Third, it identifies the dominant barriers and support needs
that shape smes’ capacity to engage in a systematic sustainability transi-
tion.
Importantly, the quantitative results are not interpreted in isolation.
They are explicitly read through the behavioural lens provided by Stern’s
theory of environmentally significant behaviour (Stern, 2000). From this
perspective, survey results reflect the interaction between attitudinal ori-
entations toward sustainability, organisational capabilities such as knowl-
edge and financial resources, and contextual conditions including regula-
tory environments, infrastructure, labour availability, and administrative
burden. This framework allows observed patterns in implementation and
readiness to be understood not merely as performance outcomes, but as
the behavioural consequences of enabling and constraining conditions.
Taken together, the quantitative insights provide an empirical counter-
point to the qualitative findings. They reveal where sustainability prac-
tices are most widespread, where gaps persist, and which structural con-
ditions most strongly shape smes’ capacity to transition from intention
to systematic implementation. These findings form a critical evidentiary
basis for the discussion and policy implications developed in the subse-
quent chapters.

profile of participating accommodation smes
The quantitative study successfully engaged a diverse cohort of 211 ac-
commodation providers distributed across the Mediterranean basin. This
geographic coverage reflects both mature, highly regulated European
Union destinations and emerging non-eu markets, providing essential
variation for comparative analysis (Saarinen et al., 2021). The geographic
distribution is anchored by the region’s three tourism economic pow-

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