Entrepreneurial resilience in volatile trade contexts: stress appraisal, cognitive framing, and the power of educational design

Purpose This study aims to examine how students in international economics programs interpret and respond to trade-related uncertainty. It aims to explain how perceived trade disruption stress (PTDS) is translated into adaptive responses, particularly entrepreneurial resilience (ER), through underlying cognitive and motivational processes. Design/methodology/approach A three-stage mixed-method design is used. Study 1 uses qualitative interviews to explore students’ experiences and identify key response patterns. Study 2 applies a quantitative approach using structural equation modeling to examine relationships among the identified constructs. Study 3 adopts a vignette-based experiment to compare responses under different levels of perceived stress. Findings The findings show that PTDS does not directly predict ER. Instead, the pattern of results is consistent with an indirect process, whereby PTDS is positively associated with both entrepreneurial curiosity and future-oriented cognition, and both constructs independently predict ER. The findings also show that international trade education exposure (ITE) strengthens the relationship between PTDS and ER. The experimental results provide limited support, indicating that higher stress conditions are associated with slightly higher ER, although the effect size is modest. Originality/value The research advances stress and cognition theory by positioning curiosity as a state-based coping resource and identifying educational conditions that convert trade-related stress into adaptive outcomes. It offers practical insights for designing education programs that intentionally incorporate structured stress exposure to develop future-ready, resilient graduates.