Pricing Decisions in the Recycled Cement Supply Chain Considering Retailers’ Sales Effort

The resource utilization of construction and demolition waste (CDW) is crucial for advancing the green transformation of the construction industry, but it faces challenges such as insufficient upstream R&D motivation and low downstream market acceptance. To investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sales effort on the recycled cement supply chain, in this study, a Stackelberg game model of a two-tier supply chain comprising a single recycled cement manufacturer and retailers is constructed. Under government subsidy conditions, four CSR sharing modes are systematically compared: no CSR (NS), manufacturer-borne (MS), retailer-borne (RS), and shared by both (TS). The results indicate the following: (1) CSR implementation reduces wholesale and retail prices while increasing sales effort, the incorporation rate of recycled aggregates, and market demand, with retailers bearing CSR yielding the most significant pull effect; (2) heightened sensitivity to sales effort incentivizes retailers to increase sales investment and encourages manufacturers to increase the incorporation rate of recycled aggregates, thereby increasing overall supply chain profits and utility; and (3) when the CSR coefficient does not exceed the critical value of 0.97, both manufacturer profits and retailer profits increase as the CSR level increases under the TS model; under the RS model, total supply chain profits and total utility reach their maximum. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) undertaken or jointly undertaken by retailers can better align economic and social objectives. This study provides theoretical foundations and practical insights for policy formulation and corporate decision-making in construction waste resource management.