A game-theoretic approach to stakeholder decision-making in the adoption of composite materials in sustainable building design

This study applies a game-theoretic framework to examine strategic decision-making between developers and contractors regarding the adoption of composite materials in construction projects. Although composites deliver significant economic and environmental advantages over the life cycle, their uptake is often constrained by high upfront costs, perceived risks, and fragmented stakeholder incentives. To address these barriers, this study simulates stakeholder interactions where each party chooses between traditional and composite material strategies. Payoffs are defined in terms of cost, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) benefits and long-term savings. A dual sensitivity analysis was undertaken through parameter sweeps and Monte Carlo simulations. The parameter sweep varied the risk confidence factor (α) from 0.6 to 1.0 in 0.05 increments, showing that even under relatively low confidence, joint adoption of composites consistently outperformed traditional material strategies. Monte Carlo analysis, with 10,000 iterations based on probabilistic distributions further validated the robustness of results. Composite strategies generated positive payoffs in all simulations, while traditional choices consistently yielded −13 regardless of scenario variation. The findings highlight that coordinated adoption of composites is not only environmentally preferable but also strategically and economically rational. The framework provides a transparent tool to guide sustainable construction material decisions.