Deinstitutionalization and Institutional Replacement: State-Centered and Neo-Liberal Models in the Global Electricity Supply Industry

60 Pages Posted: 13 Sep 2005

See all articles by Witold J. Henisz

Witold J. Henisz

University of Pennsylvania - Management Department

Guy L. F. Holburn

University of Western Ontario - Richard Ivey School of Business

Bennet A. Zelner

Duke University's Fuqua School of Business

Date Written: August 2005

Abstract

We investigate the replacement of the traditional state-centered model of electricity industry organization with a market-oriented neo-liberal model in 83 countries. We argue and find that social actors' ascription of legitimacy to an institutional replacement is central to the replacement's survival during the period following its adoption. We provide empirical evidence on the role of multiple influences that affect the legitimacy of an institutional replacement, including the influence of foreign organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and the behavior of peer countries.

Keywords: Privatization, deregulation, electricity, legitimacy, institutional theory, institution, reform

Suggested Citation

Henisz, Witold Jerzy and Holburn, Guy L. F. and Zelner, Bennet A., Deinstitutionalization and Institutional Replacement: State-Centered and Neo-Liberal Models in the Global Electricity Supply Industry (August 2005). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 3690 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=801446 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.801446

Witold Jerzy Henisz (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania - Management Department ( email )

The Wharton School
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6370
United States
215-898-0788 (Phone)
215-898-0401 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www-management.wharton.upenn.edu/henisz/

Guy L. F. Holburn

University of Western Ontario - Richard Ivey School of Business ( email )

1151 Richmond Street North
London, Ontario N6A 3K7
Canada

Bennet A. Zelner

Duke University's Fuqua School of Business ( email )

100 Fuqua Drive
Box 90120
Durham, NC 27708-0120
United States

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