Narrative 2-1 Dofasco Inc. Is a Different Kind of Steel Company. Tiny

Narrative 2-1
Dofasco Inc. is a different kind of steel company. Tiny by industry standards,the Canadian-based company has just 8,500 employees and a market cap of $2.3 billion. Dofasco operates with a close eye on the "triple bottom line." In addition to tracking financial metrics,Dofasco also monitors its impact on society and the environment. As a result,the company has outperformed many of its biggest competitors. Despite a recent slump in the automobile industry,which accounted for 50 percent of its business,Dofasco ran at 100 percent capacity and finished as one of the only integrated steelmakers in all of North America to make a profit that year. Dofasco is also one of the only companies in the steel industry without a union,and its employees like it that way. Employee turnover at the company's main operation is less than one percent annually. Part of its low turnover rate is due to the company's concern about protecting its external environment. As the CEO of the company said,"One way to get happy employees is not to wreck their community in which they live."
-Refer to Narrative 2-1. Which component of Dofasco's environment would be affected by the fact that Ford purchased less steel from Dofasco during the auto industry's slump?

A) specific  
B) competitive  
C) economic  
D) general