The effects of electronic general meetings on the participation of shareholders in joint stock companies: A study in BİST-100 companies

Participation of all shareholders to the General Assembly, the highest decision-making body at joint-stock companies, and their influence on the decisions to be taken is extremely important in terms of business management. However, for various reasons, participation of shareholders to general meeting remains at very low levels, which can lead to significant legal and economic issues in terms of business management. At the source of these problems remains "power gap" which is a management problem. The regulations in the Turkish Commercial Code, Numbered 6102 eliminated the obligation of shareholders to be available at the meeting center by enabling the realization of the general meeting electronically. Electronics General Assembly System (e-GCS) in Turkey entered into force on 01.10.2012 and it is being mandatory of usage for businesses listed on Borsa Istanbul. This study was made for revealing the effects of e-GKS, which is a solution for power gap at general meetings, which happens as a result of shareholders' usage/not usage their voting rights, on the shareholders' participation of management in joint stock companies. In the lights of data and information obtained from 62 companies listed in BİST-100 Index, it was found that e-GKS which is started to be applied in Turkey, has a positive effect on shareholders' participation to general meeting. This situation seemes to be a solution to the power gap problem in corporate governance fort he following years, and it seems to make significant contributions to the shareholders participation to management. Keywords: Electronic General Assembly, Corporate Governance, Shareholder, Power Gap