Continuance Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors among Moroccan University Faculty: The Mediating Role of Academic Leadership and Social Justice

University faculty members play a central role in knowledge production and student development. In Moroccan public universities, however, academic staff operate in challenging conditions characterized by limited recognition, weak academic leadership, and perceived organizational injustice. These conditions tend to foster continuance commitment, driven primarily by job security and constrained labor market opportunities, raising questions about its impact on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between organizational commitment—particularly continuance commitment—and OCB among Moroccan university faculty members, while assessing the mediating roles of academic leadership and perceived social justice. A quantitative research design was adopted, based on survey data collected from faculty members in Moroccan public universities. The hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modelling. The results show that continuance commitment does not directly promote OCB. While academic leadership significantly influences perceptions of social justice, neither leadership nor social justice mediates the relationship between commitment and OCB. Citizenship behaviors appear instead to be primarily driven by normative obligations and professional responsibility rather than by managerial or governance mechanisms. Qualitative insights further reveal a strong professional focus on teaching and research, accompanied by distancing from administrative and managerial processes. These findings highlight a distinctive contextual pattern in Moroccan higher education, where OCB develops independently of leadership and justice mechanisms. The study contributes original empirical evidence from a non-Western academic context and underscores the need to rethink governance, leadership development, and human resource management practices in public universities.