Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Low-carbon technology innovation and diffusion among manufacturers are confronted with various practical challenges. Oligopolistic manufacturers, who possess superior resources, are well placed to spearhead technological innovation. In contrast, small and medium-sized manufacturers face substantial barriers to the adoption and diffusion of low-carbon technologies, mainly due to high technical entry barriers and cost pressures. This paper constructs two-stage game models under government intervention to explore the mechanisms and influencing factors of low-carbon technology diffusion among manufacturers. The results indicate that government reputation concerns, innovation investment costs of oligopolistic manufacturers, and government subsidy intensity are key factors affecting the optimal strategic equilibrium between the government and oligopolistic manufacturers. Synergy between government supportive policies and innovation activities of oligopolistic manufacturers can substantially cut the technology sharing costs of low-carbon technologies, and thus accelerate cross-manufacturer technology diffusion. Moreover, higher carbon tax rates and stronger technology spillovers effectively promote industry-wide technology diffusion. A larger network scale also helps expand the coverage of low-carbon technologies. Consumer low-carbon preference shapes market demand, while carbon labels can effectively guide consumers to adopt sustainable consumption behaviors, which in turn motivates manufacturers to apply low-carbon technologies. As a hybrid topology between regular and random networks, WS small-world networks are highly favorable for technology diffusion. Topologies closer to regular networks deliver more efficient diffusion performance.</p>