Understanding students’ willingness to engage in international academic exchanges through self-determination theory: Evidence from SEM, NCA, and fsQCA

International academic participation has become increasingly important in higher education, yet limited attention has been paid to how contextual, competence-related, and psychological resources jointly shape students’ willingness to engage in international academic exchanges. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the relationships among teacher support, research literacy, self-efficacy, flow, and international academic exchange willingness among 416 Chinese university students enrolled in English Academic Writing and Research Methods courses. Structural equation modeling, necessary condition analysis, and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis were combined using SPSS 27.0, AMOS 26.0, R 4.4.2, and fsQCA 4.0 to provide complementary explanations. The SEM results showed that teacher support and research literacy were positively associated with willingness, self-efficacy, and flow, while self-efficacy and flow were positively associated with willingness and mediated the associations of teacher support and research literacy with the outcome. NCA indicated that no single condition was necessary for high willingness. fsQCA identified three sufficient configurations, demonstrating equifinality and resource substitution. These findings contribute to SDT-informed research by showing that international academic exchange willingness reflects multiple pathways involving contextual support, competence-related resources, and psychological functioning.