Abstract: Objective To conduct configuration analysis on the influencing factors of clinical male nurses' willingness to stay on post based on Planned Behavior Theory (TPB), and to provide reference for hospital managers to identify multiple factors of male nurses' willingness-to-stay. Methods Four hundred male nurses were conveniently sampled for a cross-sectional questionnaire survey from February to April 2022. Single factor analysis was conducted to find out statistical factors from 19 influencing factors based on TPB, and Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used for exploring the linkage effect and path selection of combined factors on male nurses' willingness to stay on post. Results In this study, the score of male nurses' willingness-to-stay was 20.52±5.53, which was at the medium level. Among them, 310 (77.5%) with moderate or strong willingness-to-stay scored 17~30 (22.61±4.41), and 90 (22.50%) with mild willingness-to-stay scored lower than 16 (13.88±2.17). The total score of male nurses' sense of professional benefit was 89~148 (114.91±14.54). Salary was the necessary condition for the medium and strong willingness-to-stay. Configuration analysis showed that five configurations are extracted, which were grouped into three types: (1)behavior-subjectivity: configuration 1:positive professional perception * nurse patient relationship * team belonging; (2) behavior-subjectivity-perception: configuration 2: positive professional perception * family and friend identification * promotion opportunities, configuration 3: nurse patient relationship* night shift * promotion opportunities; (3) perception: configuration 4: career choice * scientific research and innovation, configuration 5: clinical teaching * promotion opportunities * scientific research and innovation. Conclusion FsQCA analysis based on TPB shows that male nurses' willingness-to-stay is influenced by synergistic linkage effect of multiple factors, and core factors and cofactors of each configuration of male nurses' moderate and strong willingness-to-stay are determined in the study. It is helpful for hospital managers to figure out the combined influencing factors and improvement paths affecting the professional stability of male nurses from the perspective of configuration, and provide new evidence and analysis to formulate intervention measures.

Key words: male nurse, willingness-to-stay, qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), Planned Behavior Theory