ROGERS, Ark. — As Wal-Mart celebrates its 50th anniversary at its annual shareholders’ meeting on Friday, the company is expected to face some of the staunchest opposition in years to the continued tenure of several board members and its chief executive, as well as some corporate policies.


While no one expects shareholder discontent to provoke management or policy changes — about half of Wal-Mart stock is owned by the founding Walton family and executives — analysts say the meeting will expose a measure of unhappiness among investors after recent revelations of a bribery scandal at the company’s Mexican subsidiary. The authorities in the United States and Mexico are investigating possible violations by the company of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, among other things.


Some large institutional shareholders, including the nation’s biggest public pension plan, say they will vote against the re-election of several board members because of investors’ unease with the bribery allegations.


Three firms that advise investors on corporate governance have recommended that shareholders vote against some directors. And shareholder-sponsored proposals pushing for more disclosure on executive compensation and on political contributions seem to have momentum.


Paul Hodgson, senior research associate for GMIRatings, a corporate-governance analysis firm, said the activities appeared to be “a much more significant challenge to the board” than in years past. If any of the shareholder proposals gets more than 25 percent support, he said, it will indicate the endorsement of a majority of public shareholders and could put pressure on the board.


“Particularly at a time when the company might be more chary of its public reputation and its image than might normally be the case because they’re being hit hard by a bribery scandal, it might therefore turn around and say, ‘O.K., it wasn’t the majority of the shares, but we got the message,’ ” Mr. Hodgson said.


The New York Times reported in April that Wal-Mart had found credible evidence in 2005 and 2006 that its Mexican subsidiary had paid bribes and that an internal inquiry into the matter had been suppressed at corporate headquarters in Arkansas. Since then, the company has said it was conducting an investigation into what had happened and has been cooperating with various other investigations, including some by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.


This week, as Wal-Mart employees from around the world gathered here in Arkansas ahead of the shareholders meeting, the company emphasized its commitment to corporate governance. On Thursday, talking to reporters, executives said they were increasing their focus on the subject.


“We’re trying to seize this opportunity to get even stronger in compliance across the board, including F.C.P.A.,” said Doug McMillon, chief executive of Wal-Mart International. He added that he was not expecting fallout from the investigation to affect new store growth abroad.


Wal-Mart is expected to announce the general results of the votes on directors and proposals on Friday; it plans to release the specific tallies on Monday. David Tovar, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said it would be “inappropriate for us or others to come to specific conclusions” about the bribery allegations and their fallout until the investigation was complete.


“We recognize that some people will have opinions on this matter based on limited information and will attempt to further their own agenda by speaking out,” he said. “If that happens, it’s important to keep in mind the motivation for such actions.”


Even with the shareholder unrest, many Wall Street analysts are bullish on the company, saying it has done a good job of turning around its sliding sales in the United States. Since the Times report in April, Wal-Mart shares have risen about 15 percent after falling for several days.


Aside from the company’s celebration of 50 years in business, its improvement in the United States is expected to be a focus of Wal-Mart’s comments at the annual meeting. Traditionally, the meeting is part party (Cheap Trick and Aerosmith performed at a Wednesday evening concert for employees), part workplace perk (about 5,000 employees, chosen by their peers, are sent to the meeting) and part business update.