The Effect of Social Justice Leadership on Altruistic Organizational Citizenship Behavior Through Vertical and Lateral Organizational Dissent: Evidence from Türkiye

This study examined the mediating roles of vertical (VOD) and lateral organizational dissent (LOD) between school principals’ social justice leadership (SJL) and teachers’ altruistic organizational citizenship behavior (AOCB). Utilizing a quantitative, cross-sectional design, data were collected from 397 public school teachers in Türkiye via convenience sampling. CFA and SEM analyses revealed that LOD partially mediated the SJL-AOCB relationship, whereas VOD fully mediated it. The indirect effect through VOD was stronger than LOD, indicating distinct functional roles. This study contributes to educational leadership literature by providing an alternative perspective on leadership and teachers’ citizenship behaviors through dual dissent mechanisms.