Why Self‐Leadership Alone Is Not Enough: How Professional Self‐Concept and Organizational Commitment Shape Male Nurses’ Intention to Stay

BACKGROUND: Self-leadership, conceptualized as self-regulatory cognitive and behavioral strategies through which individuals influence their motivation and performance, has gained increasing attention in organizational research. However, its conceptual role in nursing-particularly in relation to retention among male nurses-remains insufficiently clarified. This study examined the association between self-leadership and intention to stay among male nurses, alongside testing the mediating roles of professional self-concept and organizational commitment. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 194 male nurses employed in general and tertiary hospitals in South Korea. Data were collected using validated self-report instruments measuring self-leadership, professional self-concept, organizational commitment, and intention to stay. Parallel mediation analysis was performed using PROCESS macro with 10,000 bootstrap resamples to estimate indirect effects. RESULTS: Self-leadership was positively associated with professional self-concept, organizational commitment, and intention to stay. When both mediators were included in the model, the direct effect of self-leadership on intention to stay became nonsignificant, while significant indirect effects were observed through professional self-concept and organizational commitment. These findings indicate that self-leadership influences retention primarily through identity-related and organizational attachment mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: Self-leadership appears to function as an upstream regulatory capacity that contributes to retention indirectly by strengthening professional identity and organizational commitment, rather than exerting a direct effect on retention decisions. These findings clarify the conceptual positioning of self-leadership in nursing retention research and highlight the need for multilevel retention strategies. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Retention strategies for male nurses should integrate structured self-leadership development with organizational initiatives that promote professional identity consolidation and inclusive workplace environments.