How university social responsibility shapes staff citizenship behavior: a theory synthesis for teaching, research, and student support

Universities depend on staff contributions that exceed formal duties, such as sharing teaching practices, supporting students beyond scheduled hours, and volunteering for curriculum and quality-assurance work, to sustain teaching, research, and student support. University social responsibility (USR) is enacted largely through these same staff. Yet it remains unclear when staff perceptions of USR strengthen such discretionary contributions and when they are experienced as additional, unrecognized demands. This theory-synthesis article integrates USR, micro-level corporate social responsibility, organizational behavior, and recent higher education research to explain how perceived USR may translate into organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among academic and administrative staff. Two pathways are proposed. A relational pathway links perceived USR to organizational justice, grounded in workload allocation, teaching assignments, promotion, and participation in decisions, and then to organizational trust, work engagement, and OCB. A motivational pathway links perceived USR to intrinsic motivation, engagement, and OCB when responsibility-related academic activities support autonomy and competence. Perceived organizational support is proposed to strengthen the relationship between perceived USR and organizational trust. Eight numbered propositions (P1-P8) are developed; Proposition 7 contains two constituent serial pathways (P7a and P7b). OCB is differentiated by its target: colleagues, students, and the institution. The framework identifies professional autonomy, collegial norms, role type, and workload systems as conditions that shape these relationships. Implications concern aligning USR commitments with fair academic workload, supportive practices, and recognized voluntary collaboration that benefits teaching and the learning environment.