Dynamic Diffusion of Legal Compliance and Ethical Conduct among Construction Project Owners: An Epidemiological Modeling Approach

Abstract

Abstract Construction industries worldwide face persistent challenges of ethical misconduct, contractual violations, and regulatory noncompliance, imposing substantial legal liabilities and undermining sustainable development. Although legal frameworks exist to govern owner behavior, their dynamic enforcement effects and interactions with market-driven compliance mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study pioneers the application of epidemiological modeling to legal compliance and ethical behavior diffusion among construction project owners. An extended susceptible-exposed-infected-removed (SEIR) model was developed to analyze how statutory enforcement and voluntary market adoption jointly drive compliance diffusion, simulated via MATLAB. Three findings emerged: (1) the diffusion of ethical behavior exhibits S-shaped evolution with global asymptotic stability, providing a predictable basis for legal intervention design; (2) resistance parameters demonstrate positional asymmetry, revealing where legal safeguards are most needed; and (3) government-mandated enforcement and voluntary adoption generate superlinear synergistic effects, suggesting compliance frameworks achieve maximum efficacy when paired with market incentives. These findings offer quantitative decision support for policymakers and legal practitioners designing effective governance instruments.