An Evolutionary Game Analysis of Government, Manufacturing Companies, and Consumers in ESG Strategy Selection

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-690-1_9How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Environmental Governance; Sustainable Development; ESG Strategy; Evolutionary Game; Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

As global environmental issues and awareness of social responsibility continue to grow, the importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategies in manufacturing is increasingly emphasized. These strategies are becoming a key factor in sustainable business development and guide the industry towards a more eco-friendly, equitable, and efficient direction. This research provides critical insights for policymakers, manufacturing companies, and consumers by constructing a triadic dynamic evolutionary game model to explore the mechanisms influencing the government, manufacturing companies, and consumers in choosing ESG strategies. The model assumes that the government, companies, and consumers are bounded rationality actors, adjusting their strategies through the game to achieve optimal outcomes. The analysis considers the initial income, cost inputs, returns, and other related factors for the government, companies, and consumers. The study reveals that multiple factors influence the government, manufacturing companies, and consumers in their choice of ESG strategies. If the government’s governance costs are too high, it may not implement environmental regulation, and manufacturing companies may not adopt ESG strategies. When environmental protection taxes increase, the government is more inclined to strengthen regulation, and companies are more likely to choose ESG strategies. Moreover, consumers’ increased preference for ESG products can raise the opportunity cost of not adopting ESG strategies, further driving the government’s and companies’ decisions to choose ESG strategies. The research highlights the critical role of balancing costs and benefits in choosing ESG strategies, providing theoretical guidance for manufacturing companies and governments in environmental governance and ESG strategy choices. Furthermore, it offers a practical framework for companies to enhance their competitiveness and operational efficiency by aligning with evolving regulatory standards and consumer preferences, ultimately contributing to sustainable development and long-term profitability.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Wei He
AU  - Xiao Wang
AU  - Yu Ruan
AU  - Hongwei Dong
AU  - Yixun Lei
AU  - Zhijing Wang
AU  - Hongwei Yu
AU  - Li Zhu
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/04/23
TI  - An Evolutionary Game Analysis of Government, Manufacturing Companies, and Consumers in ESG Strategy Selection
BT  - Proceedings of the 2024 6th International Conference on Economic Management and Model Engineering (ICEMME 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 70
EP  - 96
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-690-1_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-690-1_9
ID  - He2025
ER  -