Investigating external environmental pressure on firms and their behavior in Yangtze River Delta of China

This research employed a quantitative survey in order to ascertain whether the external environmental pressure on firms was a contributing factor to their environmental behavior. Data was obtained from 321 firms located in the Yangtze River Delta of China using structured questionnaires. The relationship between external environmental pressure on firms and their environmental behavior was tested using LISREL 10.0 through path analysis. The results revealed that external environmental pressure on firms was significantly and positively related to their environmental behavior. The results also indicated that pressure from the governmental regulation was the most important factor on environmental defensive behavior of firms, Furthermore, pressure from markets was the most important factor on their environmental preventive behavior. Lastly, pressure from community and NGOs was the most important factor on their environmental enthusiastic behavior.