Strategies of Metaverse Safety Training in Highway Construction Projects: A Tripartite Evolutionary Game

Metaverse safety training (MST) is popular in highway construction projects (HCPs). While researchers have statically examined the influence of MST, one of the essential gaps is that the interaction among stakeholders on how to improve MST effect is neglected. This paper adopts a game theory approach to illustrate the dynamics among stakeholders, namely, contractors, subcontractors, and construction crews, regarding MST within the framework of HCPs. A tripartite evolutionary game model is developed to analyze the interaction among contractors, subcontractors, and construction crews. The evolutionary stability of the stakeholders’ strategies and the equilibrium point were elucidated by solving the proposed model. A numerical simulation was conducted to validate the rationality of the results. The results show that the choice of behavioral strategies and their evolutionary paths for each stakeholder are closely related to the behavioral strategies of other stakeholders in the game, with significant differences in effects on each other’s initial strategies. The incentive mechanism must match the incentive measures provided to subcontractors and construction crews, ensuring a stable MST. The reward and penalty system implemented by contractors heightens the awareness of subcontractors and construction crews partly. This model provides practical recommendations to enhance training interactions, optimize strategies, increase security awareness, and streamline resource allocation.