Conceptualising B′ plan through problem-based method: a blended approach

Purpose Conceptualisation is a primary aspect of any business development. As social enterprises strive to bridge the gap between social mission and financial sustainability, the conceptualisation process requires a careful understanding and analysis of social realities. The conceptualisation process begins with identifying social problems, conducting a detailed analysis of social problems, identifying market gaps, and formulating a plan to address these issues. This study examines the effectiveness of a field-focused, problem-based learning (PBL) approach in strengthening social enterprise conceptualisation among postgraduate students. Design/methodology/approach As the focus of the study is on exploratory and developmental pedagogical outcomes rather than causal generalisation, the study used a quasi-experimental single-group pre-post design. It was conducted with 32 students enrolled in a master's programme in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at an Indian university. The pedagogical intervention combined classroom instruction with five structured field visits guided by the design thinking framework. A validated 37-item instrument measuring knowledge, skills, and attitude related to social enterprise conceptualisation was administered before and after the intervention. To test the normality of data, the Shapiro-Wilk test was conducted. As the post-intervention data set does not meet the normality criteria, the non-parametric statistics (Wilcoxon signed-rank test) were used to analyse the data. Findings Findings reveal statistically significant improvements across all three dimensions, with post-intervention scores indicating substantial gains in knowledge, skills, and attitude. These results indicate that field-based PBL is positively associated with students' ability to conceptualise social enterprises grounded in real-world social problems. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to the social entrepreneurship education literature by empirically validating an integrated pedagogical approach that foregrounds conceptualisation through experiential, community-engaged learning, offering practical insights for social entrepreneurship curriculum design. The study suggests that structured field immersion may be particularly valuable for problem identification training. Originality/value The present study is tests structured intervention, designed using a blended approach (classroom and field) in the Indian context. The originality of the study lies in its incremental contribution to the teaching pedagogy of social enterprise.