Bourdieu (1977) stated that capital includes all the goods, material, and symbolic, without distinction, that present themselves as rare and worthy of being sought after in a particular social formation.
He distinguishes between three forms of capital: economic capital (command over economic resources: cash and assets), social capital (resources based on group membership, relationships, networks of influence and support), and cultural capital (forms of knowledge, skills, education, and advantages that a person has, which give them a higher status in society).
Cultural Capital
Bourdieu defined cultural capital as forms of
knowledge, skills, education, and any advantages a person has, which give
him/her a higher status in society, including high expectations (1993).
According to Bourdieu, cultural capital can be acquired, to a varying extent,
depending on the period of time, the society, and the social class (1986). Bourdieu
used cultural capital to explain differences in educational performances in France
It is argued that children who have more cultural capital (having been
exposed to it from birth in their upper middle- and upper-class families) feel
more comfortable in schools, communicate easily with teachers, and are
therefore more likely to perform well in schools. On the other hand,
lower-class students find the school environment different from their home
environment and therefore lack the capital necessary to perform well in school
(De Graaf et al., 2000).
Social Capital
Bourdieu (1986:249) defines social capital
as "the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to
possession of a durable network of
more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and
recognition". He treats the concept as instrumental, focusing on the
advantages that owners of social capital can have; and the deliberate construction of sociability for
the purpose of creating this resource (Portes, 1998).
Apart from
Bourdieu, Coleman (1988) defines social capital in terms of the social relationships that are
established between individuals, authority and relationships of trust and
norms. Like other forms of capital, social capital is productive, making
possible to achieve certain goals that would not be possible in its absence.
Coleman identified three distinct forms of social capital: obligations and expectations, information
channels, and social norms. In addition, Putnam also defines social
capital as the characteristics of the social organization such as networks, norms and social trust that
facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit (Putnam,
1995:67).
In relation to
entrepreneurship, social capital provides sources for
accessing important information and opportunities necessary for business
start-ups and for business growth (Renzulli, Aldrich & Moody, 2000). In
addition, it is argued that social networks provided by family members,
community people, or organizational relationships can supplement the effects of
other capitals (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1988; Whiteley, 2000; Davidsson &
Honig, 2003).
Economic Capital
According
to Bourdieu, economic capital is the ability to command
over economic resources (i.e. cash or assets), and is that which is immediately and directly
convertible into money (Bourdieu, 1986).
Capital must exist within a field in order for the field to have meaning
and participants to relate with. In other words, goods or resources must be
perceived as “rare and worthy of being sought after in a particular social
formation” (Bourdieu, 1977). Economic capital is more than financial capital. However, focus on access to financial capital is very paramount for success in business.
Financial capital is one of the obstacles which hinder small
entrepreneurs to expand their businesses 
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