Efficiency-driven, comparative institutional analysis in international business

Purpose – This paper aims to apply internalization theory in the context of economic efficiency-driven institutions interacting with societal institutions that pursue broader goals. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis builds upon Buckley and Boddewyn’s (2015, this issue) recent work on the perceived need for multinational enterprises (MNEs) to supply public goods outside of their sphere of technical competences. This paper proposes a more restrictive approach: external markets will only be internalized if, on balance, the efficiency benefits of internalization outweigh its costs at the firm level, in line with orthodox internalization theory. Findings – MNEs replacing the activities of failing (or even absent) public sector institutions is a business phenomenon commonly observed in less developed economies. However, positive distributional effects and societal externalities without the required efficiency benefits at the firm level are insufficient for MNEs’ supply to occur. Practical implications ...