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In describing his success, Sinegal attributes it to “just good business practices.” And while he was born into a Catholic family and supports Catholic causes, he does not necessarily tie his faith to the way he approaches business. That approach, he says, is based in learning how to do business with integrity and high values from an early mentor. The following interview outlines how Sinegal approaches business and how he works to establish integrity and high values throughout Costco Wholesale Corporation.

Although the concept of duty has a historic and philosophical foundations dating back to Aristotle, there is very little theory and research in this area of scientific inquiry. In an effort to address this lack of scholarship, a theoretical foundation and a model are presented that clearly delineate the construct of duty, and the nature of its development within an individual-organization relationship. Using social exchange theory and the three-component model of organizational commitment as the conceptual foundations, the proposed duty development model explains the individual-level antecedents and the phases of commitment that individuals may progress through during their tenure in an organization. The various types of exchanges and transactions inherent in the social exchange theory provide the basis for each phase of commitment individuals experience. It is proposed that certain antecedents make individuals more likely to form a sense of duty toward an organization, but the development of this type of relationship requires an organization to focus on commitment building efforts, such as perceived organizational support and organizational culture. Contributions to theory and research, organizational implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

As more and more firms grasp that narrative is central to addressing many of today's key leadership challenges – for example, articulating the risks and opportunities identified by strategic management tools like strategic plans, scenario analysis, and dilemma resolution – the question becomes: how is a CEO to make effective use of storytelling?

Narrative – also known as storytelling – comprises an array of tools, each suitable to a different business purpose. The author lists these tools and summarizes how to use them effectively.

Even executives who are naturally talented at narrative also need to learn to target their approach to the particular issue facing the company.

While leading companies increasingly recognize the need to train leaders to use artful narrative to inspire and guide their organization to respond effectively to these strategic challenges, the reality is that most organizations need help to get the full benefits of using storytelling.

When introducing storytelling a sharp focus needs to be kept on the business purpose being pursued with the tool, as well as on the different narrative patterns associated with different purposes.

The purpose of this paper is to extend governance research in the small business context by examining the moderating influence of top executive involvement on the board of directors on market valuation.

Drawing on a sample of initial public offering (IPO) high-tech firms engaged in late-stage funding, the study uses stepwise regression to test board involvement moderation effects.

Primary market investors reward governance structures that limit founder power.

The current study introduces the notion that optimal market valuation depends not only on whether a CEO-founder governs the firm, but also on level of involvement on the board of directors.