Abdul Rahman, Julaila and Syed Khuzzan Alhabshi, Sh Mazlina and Syed Kamarulzaman, Sharifah Tahirah and Mansor, Mazlina (2026) The creative gift economy in Malaysian neighbourhoods: supporting local creative entrepreneurs for community sustainability. In: rd International Conference on Architecture and Built Environment ICABE 2026, 14–15 October 2026, KAED IIUM.
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Abstract
1. INTRODUCTION Gifting is a key social mechanism used to build, maintain, and repair human relationships. Within a multi-ethnic and multicultural country like Malaysia, the practice of exchanging gifts serves as an essential tool for community integration. The regular occurrence of major cultural celebrations-such as Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Chinese ew Year, Deepavali, and Christmas-creates an active, year-round gift economy. During these festive periods, individuals frequently exchange items across ethnic and cultural lines, reinforcing social hannony, mutual respect, and cross-cultural understanding in urban settlements. Concurrently, the rapid growth of digital networks like Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp has changed how people buy gifts, leading to the rise of independent, small-scale creative entrepreneurs. This sector has gained popularity because these micro-enterprises operate with low startup and material costs. Furthermore, if the entrepreneur possesses strong technical skills and provides high quality product finishing, these items can be sold at a much higher retail price, yielding significant profit margins. From a regional planning perspective, this growing business sector supports social inclusivity by offering home-based self-employment and sustainable income opportunities to local craft makers, home-baked goods creators, and independent design curators operating outside the corporate mainstream. This allows vulnerable community groups, such as stay-at-home parents or low income urban youth, to actively participate in the local economy. However, a distinct practical gap exists in current community planning models. While general town planning literature covers consumer habits in big commercial zones or retail malls, very little research includes the direct operational perspective of small neighborhood business operators. Evolving buyer expectations regarding low prices, custom designs, and fast delivery timelines create massive operational problems for these local micro-enterprises. If buyers expect high-end custom work but continue to hunt for cheap factory prices, local small businesses will struggle to survive. This study evaluates the intersection of consumer habits and creative entrepreneur realities to protect local livelihood sustainability. The main aim of this study is to analyze the gap between what gift buyers want and what local creative entrepreneurs can actually do in Malaysia. To make this study successful and easy to complete, it follows three simple objectives: 1. To collect survey data from hundred (100) Malaysian consumers to understand their gift choices, budgets, and planning timelines. 2. To interview four (4) local creative entrepreneurs to find out their business struggles, packaging costs, and order deadlines. 3. To compare the answers from both sides to find realistic ways to help small local gift businesses grow and survive. Julaila Abdul Rahman1*, Sharifah Mazlina Syed Khuzzan 1, Sharifah Tahirah Syed Kamarulzaman1, Mazlina Mansor 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW/ BACKGROUND The study of the gift economy focuses on how objects carry deep emotional meanings that bind society together. According to classic social theories, gifts are not merely material items, but vital expressions of personal identity, neighborhood solidarity, and mutual respect (Cheal, 2015). In modem urban environments, this emotional and social value has shifted heavily away from mass-produced commercial goods toward unique, highly personalized products. 2.1. Local Economic Development and Creative Entrepreneurs Modem consumers increasingly reject mass-produced items for custom, handmade gifts that offer greater authenticity (Ruth et al., 1999). In Malaysia, this trend is driven by younger demographics leveraging lnstagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp to discover unique gift concepts heavily influenced by Southeast Asian regional aesthetics. This custom gift sector is highly attractive due to low initial capital requirements, eliminating the need for expensive storefronts or industrial machinery. Instead, the business relies on the artisan's personal skills. When an entrepreneur applies superior techniques to deliver premium product finishing-such as intricate calligraphy, precise handcrafting, or unique packaging-the perceived value of the item increases drastically (Berawi, 2004). This allows creators to command higher retail prices, successfully transforming low-cost raw materials into sustainable household profit margins. 2.2. Social lnclusivity and Community Sustainability Creative entrepreneurs are vital to the Malaysian economic blueprint (Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development [MECD], 2024). However, these micro-businesses remain vulnerable due to a lack of formal urban retail spaces and weak local supply chains. Furthennore, digital platforms expose home-based artisans to intense competition, allowing consumers to easily benchmark handmade local items against cheap, mass-manufactured imports. Because custom production demands substantial time and labor, independent creators face compressed profit margins when price sensitive buyers expect luxury presentation on rigid budgets. Balancing consumer affordability with creator survival is critical to ensuring long-term financial inclusivity and economic resilience for local micro-retailers (Komter, 2007). 3. METHOD I APPROACH This study employs a concurrent mixed-methods design to analyze both sides of the micro-retail exchange in local Malaysian neighborhoods. Quantitatively, data will be collected from 100 general consumers via a structured Google Form survey capturing user preferences, platform choices (such as Instagram or WhatsApp), and strict budget limitations. Concurrently, qualitative data will be gathered through semi-structured interviews via text messages or voice notes with four local creative entrepreneurs: a customized floral arranger, a boutique gift-box vendor, a handmade craft maker, and a personalized souvenir creator. By integrating the percentage distributions from the 100 consumer surveys with the empirical operational challenges-such as material packaging costs and tight turnaround deadlines-recounted by the four entrepreneurs, this approach effectively highlights areas of alignment or structural friction within the local neighborhood economy. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1. Consumer Purchasing Habits and the Operational Capabilities of Local Micro-Enterprises The data collected from this concurrent mixed-methods study will be integrated to evaluate the intersection between consumer purchasing habits and the operational capabilities of local micro enterprises. Rather than analyzing the datasets in isolation, the discussion will follow a comparative framework to map out areas of alignment or structural friction between both parties. Quantitative data regarding gift-buying windows and average spending choices will be cross-tabulated against the qualitative business themes gathered from the four creative entrepreneurs. This allows the study to Julaila Abdul Rahman1*, Sharifah Mazlina Syed Khuzzan 1, Sharifah Tahirah Syed Kamarulzaman1, Mazlina Mansor 1 visually map out user tendencies-such as order frequencies, strict budget limits, and platform preferences (like WhatsApp or Instagram)-directly against the seller's lived operational realities. 4.2. Expected Mismatches and Implications for Local Economic Planning The analysis is expected to uncover a distinct logistical and financial mismatch within the local neighborhood economy. While survey data will likely show that Malaysian consumers highly value unique, premium product finishing and aesthetic packaging, interview data from creative entrepreneurs is anticipated to reveal that actual buying behaviors create severe operational strain. Specifically, the framework will contrast the high frequency of last-minute deadlines and rigid customer budget caps (such as a preference for gifts under RM100) against the rising costs of sourcing quality materials and managing tight turnaround times. By highlighting this structural disconnect, the findings will offer urban planners and local councils a practical blueprint to design optimized community market spaces, targeted digital business training, and supportive micro-grant policies that protect the livelihood sustainability and social inclusivity of local creators. 5. CONCLUSION This study examines the relationship between consumer habits and micro-enterprise operations within Malaysia's neighborhood gift economy. Expected findings show that while consumers demand premium finishing and packaging, creators must balance this against operational limits. Accepting last-minute orders via WhatsApp can serve as a profitable strategy to command premium rush fees; however, for single-operator enterprises, it introduces workflow volatility and physical strain. Long term economic sustainability requires consumers to respect custom labor costs, alongside better operational tools for artisans. Ultimately, urban planners and local councils can leverage these insights to formulate targeted digital training, micro-grant policies, and optimized community market spaces. Municipal planners should design dedicated, affordable incubator spaces tailored for creative entrepreneurs. These small footprint units require proper utilities and climate control to preserve delicate raw materials. Spatially, they should be allocated on low-rent, accessible first-floor units within standard retail buildings, or built as ground-floor installations in modular container parks and upgraded local gerai (stall) hubs to capture pedestrian flows. Architecturally, utilizing transparent glass walls and doors across both formats maximizes visual exposure, turning the production process into an interactive storefront. Deliberate physical and policy planning ensures that creative entrepreneurs can sustainably monetize their crafts, supporting household financial resilience and community integration across Malaysia. Keywords: creative entrepreneurs; consumer habits; operational capacity; micro-retail spaces; Malaysia.
| Item Type: | Proceeding Paper (Plenary Papers) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | creative entrepreneurs; consumer habits; operational capacity; micro-retail spaces; Malaysia. |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) |
| Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button): | Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design > Department of Quantity Surveying Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design |
| Depositing User: | Julaila Abdul Rahman |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Nov 2026 12:29 |
| Last Update: | 10 Nov 2026 12:29 |
| Queue Number: | 2026-10-Q6063 |
| URI: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/132515 |
| Indexed In: | UNSPECIFIED |
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