Bengi Ertuna

Traditional versus international influences: CSR disclosures in Turkey

This study provides an investigation into the CSR activities of companies in an emerging market, characterised by both an established tradition of business philanthropy and a current process of integration with international markets. We use content analysis on the CSR disclosures of listed Turkish companies and analyse the factors which influence the level of CSR reporting through univariate and multivariate analysis. Our findings reveal that traditional practices have a strong influence on CSR reporting. The impact of international influences is weaker and mainly through market-driven norms rather than institutionally imposed mechanisms. Our results provide additional support for the context-dependent nature of CSR practice and display the interaction between the local and international influences.

Do Foreign Institutional Investors Reward Transparency and Disclosure

Corporate governance has emerged as a leading investment criterion for institutional investors with the rise of cross-border portfolio flows, especially for markets with weak investor protection. This study provides firm-level evidence on the relationship between the level of foreign institutional investment and the transparency and disclosure performance of companies listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. We develop a self-constructed transparency and disclosure index, consisting of voluntary and mandatory components, and find that only voluntary disclosure is positively associated with foreign institutional investment. We conclude that firms that operate in markets with lower governance standards can indeed attract more institutional investment through better disclosure, beyond what is required by regulations. JEL Classification: G32, G34

What You Encourage is What You Get: The Case of Turkish Inbound International Tourism

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to demonstrate the relationship between tourism supply and tourism products that a country builds and the characteristics of the international tourism demand of inbound visitors to Turkey. The developments that are observed in the inbound international tourism to Turkey over time indicate that the investment incentives provided by the government determine the nature of the inbound international tourism demand by shaping the tourism supply that is actually built. The relationships that stem from the Turkish inbound tourism development case will help to clarify the factors inhibiting international tourism development in other developing countries. The development stages of mass tourism in Turkey can suggest policy implementations for other developing countries with natural resources and which aim to enter inbound mass tourism market.

Collaboration of foreign investors with local family business groups in Turkey: implications on firm performance

This study investigates the nature of the collaborations of the foreign investor with the local family business groups, drawing out a range of possible implications on performance. Embracing a multi–theoretical approach, we use a panel data regression analysis on a sample of non–financial companies listed in Istanbul Stock Exchange during the period of 1999–2002. We find that the interaction of the foreign investor with local business groups may have both positive and negative consequences on performance, depending on the nature of the collaboration. In the case of local firms, there is a positive relationship between performance and the presence of a chairman who is a member of the family that owns the business group. Having such a chairman seems to have a negative effect on performance when foreign investors are involved. However, equity partnership with a local family business group contributes positively to the performance of foreign–involved companies.

The Role of Regional Agencies

Abstract nRegional development agencies (RDAs) have recently been established in Turkey as a policy vehicle to support local governments and coordinate stakeholders’ activities. In compliance with the European Union policy guidelines, regional-level planning and policymaking are introduced for the first time in Turkey. Within the new system, tourism is designated as one of the critical development tools and thus the RDAs have become actively involved in tourism planning and development. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the role of these organizations in the enhancement of tourism in less developed areas, examining the case of Thrace and North Anatolia regions in Turkey, and the activities of these respective agencies.

The Diffusion of Corporate Governance Standards in an Emerging Market: Evidence from Istanbul Stock Exchange

Corporate governance concepts and principles have originated mainly in developed markets that are characterized by strong shareholder protection and dispersed ownership structures. In order to integrate with the global financial markets, emerging markets and companies have realized the need to improve the quality of their governance. Good corporate governance principles spread globally as countries started issuing their own codes with the encouragement of transnational institutions, such as the World Bank and the OECD. The Corporate Governance Principles of OECD, drafted in 1999 and amended in 2004, have become the benchmark for corporate governance codes of both developed and emerging markets (Mallin, 2004). These principles are recommendations by the OECD of best practices to be emulated by all countries and are based generally on the Anglo-Saxon corporate governance system and its mechanisms. Thus, they do not specifically address the relevant governance issues of different national institutional contexts.