The influence of multi-level factors on Chinese residents' purchase decisions of green housing: A system dynamics approach

Abstract

Green housing (GH) is recognized as the key approach to address environmental issues and enhance human life quality. As a result of limited market demand, the promotion of GH faces challenges in China. Numerous research identified the driving factors that affect the GH purchase decisions, yet the dynamic interactions of multi-level factors has not been explored in depth. This research proposed a system dynamics model to explore the interrelationships between GH providers, residents, governments, social environment and GH product attributes, and investigate the dynamic impact mechanism of residents' GH purchase decisions. The results indicate that residents' GH purchase decisions are influenced intricately by a range of factors at multiple levels which interact dynamically. Specifically, publicity and guidance can effectively enhance residents' perceived benefits, administrative regulations can effectively reduce residents' perceived risks, while economic incentives have insignificant impact on residents' perception. Moreover, the cooperation among stakeholders involved in the provisions of GHs is the prerequisites for achieving green performance in whole life cycle. It is noted that combining policy interventions and improvement of GH provision will be more effective than offering either of those alone. This study provides a systematic and dynamic new perspective to deeply explain the dependent structure of multi-level factors affecting residents' GH purchase decisions. The findings have enlightening implications for policymakers and business decision-makers to jointly promote GH development.