Corporate governance practices in Turkey during the European Union harmonization process: Voting results in general meetings

Corporate governance is a chain of a set of rules which describes the relationships between shareholders, executives and board of a company. In its essence, corporate governance deals with the results of the dispersion between ownership and control. However it is not the fact that corporate governance is an issue between only shareholders and management. It has wide social and institutional aspects. The presence of strong governance standards creates smooth penetration paths to capital and economic growth. The properly designed governance rules are based on principles of responsibility, accountability, transparency and fairness. Principles such as protection of the private property, proper functioning judicial system and freedom of press are the prerequisites for good and sound corporate governance. As a whole, corporate governance is an indicator of both a company and the society with its economy.In that sense, this study emphasizes the necessity in Turkey to adopt better corporate governance practices during the convergence process of companies? bylaw and national law pursuant to the acquis communautaire of the European Union accession process. Development of corporate governance in Turkey and the future recommendations are discussed accordingly. Furthermore, the study reveals the shareholder activism in Turkey and compares it with Europe by examining the attendance levels and voting results of the general meetings.Keywords: Corporate Governance, Turkey, European Union, General Meetings, Voting Results