Employee Shareholding, Governance and Performance in Moroccan Banks: A Qualitative Exploratory Study

Employee shareholding has increasingly been considered as a relevant mechanism for strengthening incentive alignment, organizational commitment and corporate governance. In the banking sector, this issue is particularly important because banks operate in highly regulated, risk-sensitive and strategically complex environments where governance quality and performance are closely linked to financial stability and stakeholder confidence. This study aims to explore the potential role of employee shareholding as a governance mechanism in Moroccan banks, with particular emphasis on its relationship with governance quality and banking performance. To achieve this objective, the study adopts a qualitative exploratory approach based on documentary analysis and thematic content analysis. The analysis relies on academic literature and publicly available institutional documents related to major Moroccan banks, including annual reports, governance reports, financial statements and regulatory publications. The findings suggest that employee shareholding remains insufficiently visible in public banking disclosures, while Moroccan banks give greater emphasis to governance structures, risk management, human capital development and performance indicators. The study argues that employee shareholding may contribute to banking performance indirectly through employee engagement, incentive alignment, participatory governance and stronger internal commitment. It also proposes a conceptual framework in which governance quality plays a mediating or moderating role between employee shareholding and banking performance. This research contributes to the literature by contextualizing employee shareholding in the Moroccan banking sector and by providing a basis for future empirical studies on ownership participation, governance and sustainable banking performance.