Physical Asset Specificity

The use of a capital good to a narrow purpose. Asset specificity applies to capital designed to have a single function, or labor trained to perform a single task, and has its limited uses because of some inherent restriction on other possible uses. The more specific an asset, the lower its potential resale value or redeployability. Companies may be reluctant to invest in such assets in a poor or uncertain economy. When a company purchases a highly specific asset, this purchase is considered a sunk cost, since the asset will likely not be saleable or useable for purposes other than its intended purchase.