How Green Building Product Decisions from Customers Can Be Transitioned to Manufacturers: An Agent-Based Model

• Main Authors: Qingfeng Meng, Hongming Zhu, Zhen Li, Jianguo Du, Xiangyu Wang, Mi Jeong Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-10-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: construction sustainability; green building product; green degree decision; customer financial ability; agent-based modeling
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/3977

The development of green building products is of great significance to the sustainability of construction projects. Both the financial ability and adoption behavior of customers have a great influence on the decisions made by manufacturers regarding the development of green building products. To clarify how customer behavior related to green building products can be transitioned to manufacturers, this paper presents a multiagent model that considers the interactions between customers and manufacturers, describing the decision process of manufacturers through the swarm intelligence algorithm and taking complex characteristics of agents into account. Results show that the customer’s financial ability has a positive impact on the green decisions of manufactures. In addition, the average greenness of products produced by manufacturers is found to be lower than that required by customers. Furthermore, building products within a certain range of greenness has strategic advantages in market competition, leading to higher sales and a monopoly position.