Malaysian SMEs account for 97.4% of business establishments and 38.2% of GDP, yet evidence on how their marketing capabilities translate into revenue-related business performance remains fragmented and methodologically inconsistent. This systematic literature review, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, searched the Web of Science and Scopus and yielded 64 records; 14 empirical studies published between 2020 and 2026 met the eligibility criteria after screening and quality appraisal. Evidence was classified as Core (n = 5), Supporting (n = 4), or Caveated (n = 5) using an adapted Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool framework. Thematic synthesis identified four patterns: market orientation dominates the Malaysian SME capability landscape, joined by digital marketing capability and relationship marketing orientation; capabilities associate positively with performance but mainly through perceived or proxy outcome measures rather than directly measured revenue; innovation capability mediation, digital amplification and customer responsiveness are the principal conversion mechanisms; and single-period data collection, self-reported performance scales and sector fragmentation are pervasive limitations. Direct financial evidence is narrow and confined largely to agro-based food manufacturing and relationship marketing contexts. Longitudinal designs, archival financial data and cross-sector replication are the most pressing research priorities.
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