سید مرتضی غیور باغبانی

Introduction: The purpose of the current study is analyzing the moderating role of ethical leadership in relation to the effect of market orientation and technological innovation on business performance of companies producing saffron in Iran. Material & Methods: The current study is of descriptive-correlational type, in terms of nature, and it is at the level of applied-developmental studies, in terms of objectives. The statistical population of the study includes the managers and employees of 58 companies which are members of the union, out of which 232 individuals who had the ability to answer the questions were selected, and by referring to the Morgan Table, the sample size was determined to be 144 individuals. Considering the higher number of questionnaires distributed, 147 questionnaires were taken into consideration for analysis, and the hypotheses of the study were analyzed by employing the statistical test of partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results: The findings of the study showed that the market orientation and technological innovation significantly affect the business performance. Moreover, the moderating role of ethical leadership in relation to the effect of market orientation on the business performance was proved; however, the moderating role of ethical leadership in relation to the effect of technological innovations on the business performance was not proved. Conclusion: Considering the statistical results, the variables of market orientation and technological innovation, and also the moderating role of ethical leadership in market orientation positively affect the business performance of companies, but the moderating role of ethical leadership in relation to the effect of technological innovations on the business performance was not proved