To demonstrate organizational response to institutional voids, the concept of institutional capital is introduced for purposes of capturing the firm's innate and acquired competences which help the firm utilize institutional opportunities, reduce institutional constraints, and hence gain legitimacy. We identify three components of institutional capital, namely political influence, industrial power and organizational cognition. In most studies of ownership and firm performance, researchers have assumed that different forms of ownership have direct or indirect effects on firm strategy or performance. This research aims at exploring the difference of institutional capital for firms of different ownership types. Empirical tests based on a sample of two hundred firms located in China finds that different ownership types of firms do have different levels of political influence, industrial power and organizational cognition. State-owned enterprises have the highest level of political influence, while foreign enterprises have advantages in industrial power, such as higher ability of standardization, superior network position, and better organizational cognition. Discussion and managerial implications are provided following the data analysis results.