Creating Symbolic Value: A Cultural Perspective on Production and Exchange

Abstract

Research in the sociology of culture and in the anthropology of consumption suggests that goods carry a symbolic value, to the extent that they provide users to express individual identity and to signal social status. In this paper, we examine the process of symbolic value creation. Building on research in sociology and anthropology, we observe how symbolic value is created in production and exchange, and how it involves processes and actors that are only partially under the control of the firm. We argue that specific intangible assets are involved in symbolic value creation: we introduce the concepts of symbolic capital, cultural capital and institutional capital, and we develop propositions about factors leading to the accumulation of these resources. Finally we discuss the implications of this perspective for management research.