The theoretical and practical search to articulate efficiency and justice has history and present relevance. The objective of this paper is a theoretical dialogue between D. C. North and A. MacIntyre to articulate efficiency and justice across institutions. This articulation has –as its broader horizon– an interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between economic theory and ethics. From economic science, as an alternative to the concept of Paretian efficiency, North speaks of adaptive efficiency: institutions – understood as rules of human interaction – seek to be efficient in a process of adaptation over time. From ethics, MacIntyre contributes from an Aristotelian-Thomistic vision of distributive justice. MacIntyre recognizes that institutions are necessary for practices in communities but warns of the danger of institutional corruption. A place for this articulation is companies –organizations for North– where adaptive efficiency can occur if institutions –rules for human interaction– decentralize decision-making, specify contracts and property rights well. Companies, understood by MacIntyre as workplaces, are institutions that pursue common goods and that support the practices of these communities.