Institutional pressures affecting a firm's decision to visit United States Environmental Protection Agency compliance assistance websites: A study of the organic chemical industry

This dissertation examines the institutional forces responsible for motivating firms to visit United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Compliance Assistance websites employing the concepts of institutional theory from the organizational sociology literature and incorporating data from USEPA databases and the organic chemical industry. A sample of 546 facilities was randomly selected for this study. Eighty-one stakeholders replied to an online questionnaire and, of these, 69 stakeholders responded to a follow-up questionnaire via phone. Data were analyzed using chi-square and binary logistic regression tests.;Much of the current literature on compliance and enforcement has identified government pressure as the driving force for enticing firms to comply with regulations. Firms seek compliance assistance from the USEPA to understand better environmental regulations. There is little research, however, on whether additional forces external to the firm (emanating from the community and trade association) can be predictors of the firm's likelihood to visit USEPA Compliance Assistance websites.;This research has been framed around two hypotheses and five research questions that collectively explore whether firms are likely to visit USEPA Compliance Assistance websites as a result of government, community, and trade association pressures. Three sets of findings emerge from this research. First, government inspections predict whether the firm visits USEPA Compliance Assistance websites. A second finding suggests that pressure from the local community does not predict whether the firm visits USEPA Compliance Assistance websites. Lastly, a third finding suggests that pressure from the trade association does not predict whether the firm visits USEPA Compliance Assistance websites.;Findings from this study are tentative and exploratory. The findings contribute to the social science literature by suggesting that government inspections are a positive factor in predicting whether the firm will likely visit USEPA Compliance Assistance websites to help them understand environmental regulations.