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

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