Why capital stays: Territorial reproduction and the limits of manufacturing mobility

Capital mobility is routinely invoked as a defining feature of contemporary capitalism and as a strategic resource in state–firm bargaining. Yet, advanced manufacturing often remains territorially anchored. This paper argues that the limits of mobility lie in the territorial reproduction of productive capabilities. Introducing the concept of capability stickiness, it shows how skills, organizational routines, and institutional supports become layered and mutually reinforcing, transforming relocation into a source of systemic uncertainty. Drawing on a comparative reinterpretation of Japanese manufacturing regions, the analysis demonstrates that uneven depths of territorial reproduction generate differentiated credibility of exit. Integrated ecosystems constrain mobility, while branch-plant and thinly embedded regions remain more exposed to withdrawal. Mobility is thus spatially structured rather than uniformly available. By linking territorial reproduction to bargaining power, the paper bridges evolutionary economic geography and critical political economy and reframes debates on uneven development and industrial strategy.