How Does Mental Accounting Affect Green Technology Diffusion Among Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Enterprises? An Evolutionary Analysis on a Scale-Free Network

Green technology can improve construction and demolition waste recycling, yet an objective payoff advantage does not necessarily lead to sustained adoption. This study examines how enterprise valuation and network learning jointly shape diffusion. A rational benchmark model, a prospect theory–mental accounting model, and a mental accounting–hedonic editing model are developed on a Barabási–Albert scale-free network, with strategy updates governed by a Fermi rule based on neighborhood-relative rankings. Under the baseline conditions, separate account evaluation weakens the perceived advantage of green technology, and local imitation amplifies this difference into low adoption. Hedonic editing improves the relative performance of green technology by comparing integrated and separate evaluations, while its diffusion effect remains conditional on underlying revenues and costs. Across the parameter ranges examined, technological maturity supports diffusion by reducing production costs and research and development risk. Initial adoption and average network degree jointly affect the spread of advantageous strategies. Subsidies and penalties lower adoption thresholds, but higher adoption does not guarantee higher average enterprise net payoffs. These findings connect objective payoffs, account-based valuation, and network diffusion, informing integrated project appraisal, demonstration programs, and policy-mix design.