Intan Nadiyah Mohd Nor, Mohamad Hariri Abdullah, Hema Zulaika Hashim, Nur Syazana Osman
The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Malaysian furniture industry tend to have a propensity to concentrate on short-term earnings rather than investing in long-term growth and sustainable development, which contributes to design related conflicts among stakeholders. The conspicuous knowledge gaps in the industry, namely limited understanding of the underlying factors contribute to these conflicts. Despite the significance of this issue, there is a lack of in-depth research on design related conflicts in the context of SMEs in the Malaysian furniture industry. This study aims to explore and understand the key challenges encountered by the Malaysian furniture industry SMEs in terms of innovation from the perspective of design-related conflicts. Through a systematic literature review, a conceptual framework was established to shed light on the factors that constitute critical challenges and their consequences that contribute to these design-related conflicts which hinder innovation in Malaysian furniture industry SMEs. The research has identified the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) practices, lack of financial resources, and scarcity of market knowledge as the primary factors that lead to design related conflicts between stakeholders and hinder innovation. Therefore, there is a need for a framework to address these conflicts. The findings of this study are important as the starting point for policymakers, manufacturers, and industry stakeholders to develop effective strategies to promote innovation and overcome design conflicts.