Relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation and employee Performance: Emphasis on Mediated role of Employees’ Ethical Virtuousness

Background: In today's competitive world and to achieve maximum efficiency, organizations regardless of their size are forced to improve their human performance and thus improve their performance. This requires attention to many factors, including the factors such as entrepreneurial orientation and the virtuousness of staff that is on component of ethics. So, the aim of this study is to investigate the mediating role of virtuousness on the relationship of entrepreneurial orientation and performance. Method: In terms of purpose this is an applied research and in terms of method, survey-correlation research. The study has been done in one of the companies that active in the production, packaging, distribution and sale of bread in the city of Mashhad in 1395. Number of employee in this statistical society is 145 people. 108 participants were selected through randomized sampling. The data collection tool was questionnaire for employee performance, entrepreneurial orientation and virtuousness.  Data were analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM) approach and SmartPLS software. Results: Relationship of entrepreneurial orientation with virtuousness and performance is approved. In addition, the relation of minor role of ethical virtuousness with performance is approved. From SEM approach, it was shown that the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation have positive and significant relationship with the performance through the virtuous mediator variable and the model has acceptable goodness of fit. Conclusion: Results show that ethical virtuousness and entrepreneurial orientation are good predictor variables for performance and organizations have to provide the necessary background for training and strengthening of these variables.