Bourdieu’s Capitals in Action: Societal Value Creation and Capture at Doctors Without Borders

An article co-authored by GSEM Professor Michel Ferrary, and former GSEM Ph.D. Gaëlle Cotterlaz-Rannard, was published in Public Management Review. This study examines how non-profit organizations create and capture societal value beyond economic returns. Using Bourdieu’s theory of capital, the authors develop a framework showing how organizations like Doctors Without Borders convert social recognition (symbolic capital) into new forms of economic, social, and cultural capital. The findings highlight a dynamic, cyclical process where value creation and capture are interdependent, and show how disruptions in social recognition can weaken this virtuous circle.

ABSTRACT

For non-profit organizations, the way that societal value is created, captured and articulated remains ambiguous. While value creation is well-established in the literature, the understanding of value capture, particularly in its non-economic dimensions, is in its nascent stages. However, understanding value capture beyond its economic dimension is crucial, as it impacts the capacity to create more societal value. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of forms of capital (economic, social, cultural, and symbolic), this research proposes a theoretical framework to explain societal value creation and capture for the non-profit sector, illustrated by the case study of Doctors Without Borders.

Access the study: Exploring the virtuous circle of societal value creation and capture by non-profit organizations from a Bourdieusian perspective

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