Social capital is the value and advantage people gain through relationships, networks, trust, and connections, while cultural capital refers to knowledge, skills, education, behaviors, and cultural familiarity that can provide social advantages.
Put simply, social capital is largely about the relationships and networks you can access, while cultural capital is about the knowledge, behaviors, and cultural resources you possess.
Both can influence opportunities, careers, education, social mobility, and success in the workplace, but they operate in different ways.
Social Capital vs Cultural Capital: Quick Comparison
| Social Capital | Cultural Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Resources and advantages gained through relationships, networks, trust, and social connections. | Knowledge, skills, education, behaviors, and cultural familiarity that can provide social advantages. |
| Main focus | Relationships and networks. | Knowledge and cultural resources. |
| Simple distinction | Who you know and the relationships you can access. | What you know and how you understand and navigate social environments. |
| Examples | Professional networks, trusted relationships, community connections, mentors. | Education, language, knowledge, qualifications, cultural knowledge, and ways of communicating. |
| Developed through | Relationships, participation, networking, trust, and cooperation. | Family, education, experience, social environments, and cultural participation. |
| Potential benefit | Access to information, support, people, and opportunities. | Ability to understand expectations, communicate effectively, and navigate institutions or social settings. |
What Is Social Capital?
Social capital refers to the resources and benefits that can arise from relationships between people and participation in social networks.
These relationships can involve trust, cooperation, shared norms, reciprocity, information, support, and a sense of belonging. Social capital can exist between individuals, within teams and organizations, and across wider communities.
In the workplace, social capital can be seen in trusted professional relationships, strong teams, mentoring relationships, informal networks, and connections with people inside and outside an organization.
For example, a colleague may tell you about an opportunity, a mentor may introduce you to an important contact, or a trusted professional relationship may make collaboration easier. The value comes not simply from knowing people but from the resources, trust, information, and cooperation available through those relationships.
What Is Cultural Capital?
Cultural capital refers to cultural knowledge, skills, education, behaviors, tastes, language, and other non-financial assets that can provide advantages within a society or social environment.
The concept is strongly associated with French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, who used cultural capital to help explain how social advantages can be acquired and reproduced beyond purely economic wealth.
Cultural capital can include knowing how to communicate in a particular environment, understanding expected behaviors, possessing valued educational credentials, being familiar with cultural conventions, and having knowledge that is recognized or rewarded within a social setting.
Education is therefore one important source of cultural capital, although the concept extends beyond formal qualifications. Knowledge, language, social expectations, communication styles, and familiarity with particular institutions can all matter.
Cultural capital is related to, but distinct from, human capital.
What Is the Difference Between Social Capital and Cultural Capital?
The main difference between social capital and cultural capital is the type of resource involved.
Social capital comes primarily from relationships and networks. It concerns the connections between people and the trust, information, support, cooperation, and opportunities that can flow through those connections.
Cultural capital comes primarily from knowledge, skills, behaviors, education, and familiarity with cultural expectations. It can help a person understand and navigate particular social, educational, or professional environments.
A simple way to remember the distinction is that social capital concerns your social connections, while cultural capital concerns your cultural resources and knowledge.
Examples of Social Capital vs Cultural Capital
Looking at the same situation from both perspectives can make the difference easier to understand.
Example 1: Finding a Job
Social capital: A professional contact tells you about an unadvertised vacancy and introduces you to the hiring manager.
Cultural capital: Your education, industry knowledge, communication style, and understanding of professional expectations help you navigate the application and interview process.
Example 2: Starting a New Role
Social capital: You build trusted relationships with colleagues who share information, advice, and support.
Cultural capital: You understand the language, behaviors, expectations, and professional conventions valued within the organization.
Example 3: Education
Social capital: A student has access to supportive relationships with teachers, peers, family members, or other people who can provide information and guidance.
Cultural capital: A student is familiar with the language, knowledge, expectations, and behaviors valued within the educational environment.
Example 4: Professional Development
Social capital: Attending an industry event allows you to develop relationships with people in your profession.
Cultural capital: Training, education, professional knowledge, and familiarity with the field increase your ability to participate confidently and effectively.
How Social Capital and Cultural Capital Work Together
Social capital and cultural capital are different, but they frequently interact.
A person may possess extensive knowledge and qualifications but have a relatively limited professional network. Another person may have strong relationships and connections but less familiarity with the knowledge or cultural expectations valued in a particular environment.
Having access to both can be advantageous. Cultural knowledge may make it easier to enter and participate in certain networks, while social relationships may provide opportunities to acquire additional knowledge, skills, information, and experience.
For example, joining a professional association may develop social capital by creating new relationships. Conversations and experiences within that network may simultaneously contribute to cultural capital by increasing knowledge of professional norms, language, expectations, and practices.
Can You Have Cultural Capital Without Social Capital?
Yes. A person can possess substantial cultural capital while having relatively limited social capital.
For example, someone may have extensive education, professional knowledge, strong communication skills, and a detailed understanding of an industry while having only a small professional network.
The reverse can also occur. Someone may have a large and supportive network but possess less of the particular knowledge, qualifications, or cultural familiarity valued in a specific environment.
This distinction demonstrates why social and cultural capital should not be treated as interchangeable concepts.
Social Capital and Cultural Capital in the Workplace
Both forms of capital can influence workplace experiences, although organizations should be careful not to confuse familiarity with merit or allow informal networks to create unfair barriers to opportunity.
Social capital can support collaboration, information sharing, trust, mentoring, and cooperation. Strong relationships can make it easier for employees to ask for assistance, exchange knowledge, and work together effectively.
Cultural capital can influence how comfortably people navigate workplace expectations, professional language, communication styles, and organizational norms.
Understanding these dynamics can also help organizations think more carefully about cultural inclusion, access to development opportunities, mentoring, and how unwritten workplace expectations are communicated.
How to Develop Social Capital
- Build genuine professional relationships: Develop connections based on mutual trust and value rather than treating networking as a transaction.
- Participate in groups and communities: Professional associations, workplace groups, projects, and communities can create opportunities to build relationships.
- Develop trust: Reliability, cooperation, and reciprocity strengthen relationships over time.
- Seek and provide mentorship: Mentoring can create valuable relationships while supporting the exchange of knowledge and experience.
- Collaborate: Working constructively with others can strengthen relationships and expand networks.
How to Develop Cultural Capital
- Continue learning: Education, reading, training, and professional development can expand knowledge and skills.
- Gain varied experiences: Exposure to different environments, ideas, people, and practices can broaden cultural knowledge.
- Learn professional conventions: Understanding the language, expectations, and practices of a profession can make unfamiliar environments easier to navigate.
- Develop communication skills: Being able to understand and adapt communication appropriately can be valuable across different settings.
- Learn from others: Colleagues, mentors, teachers, and communities can expose people to knowledge and perspectives they have not previously encountered.
Social Capital vs Human Capital vs Cultural Capital
Social capital, human capital, and cultural capital overlap in some situations, but they describe different types of resources.
- Social capital concerns relationships, networks, trust, and the resources accessible through them.
- Human capital generally concerns the knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience that contribute to an individual’s productive capacity.
- Cultural capital concerns culturally valued knowledge, behaviors, education, tastes, language, and familiarity with social or institutional expectations.
You can explore the workplace concept further in our guide to human capital management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between social capital and cultural capital?
Social capital is based primarily on relationships, networks, trust, and connections. Cultural capital is based primarily on culturally valued knowledge, skills, education, behaviors, and familiarity with social expectations.
What is an example of social capital?
A trusted professional network is an example of social capital. People within that network may exchange information, provide support, make introductions, or help one another identify opportunities.
What is an example of cultural capital?
Examples of cultural capital can include educational knowledge, language, qualifications, communication styles, cultural knowledge, and familiarity with the behaviors expected within particular social or institutional environments.
Who developed the concept of cultural capital?
Cultural capital is strongly associated with French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, who used the concept in his analysis of culture, education, social class, and the reproduction of social advantage.
Conclusion
Social capital and cultural capital are both non-financial resources that can influence people’s opportunities and experiences, but they should not be confused.
Social capital is centered on relationships, networks, trust, and connections, while cultural capital is centered on knowledge, education, behaviors, skills, and cultural familiarity.
Understanding the distinction can help individuals, trainers, managers, and organizations recognize how relationships and cultural knowledge influence participation, development, collaboration, and opportunity in the workplace.
For related workplace topics, explore our resources on social awareness and emotional intelligence, culturally inclusive learning environments, and workplace productivity.
Meet Catherine, the passionate mind behind Oak Innovation. For more than 30 years, she’s been creating practical, engaging courses that help trainers, L&D professionals, managers, and consultants save valuable preparation time. Her goal is simple: make course creation easier, so you can spend less time preparing and more time delivering great training.
