The design thinking approach (DTA) is recognized as a desirable and viable strategic plan for addressing the ever-changing dynamic needs of the customer in software products. However, the adoption of DTA in software development organizations (SDOs) remains low, which is of significant concern in developing countries such as India. DTA implementation appears complex, challenging and necessitates holistic investigation to understand the factors influencing the adoption. Consequently, the study seeks to propose a practice-based theoretical framework using the situation-actor-process and learning-action-performance (SAP-LAP) framework to advance our understanding of DTA utilization challenges in SDOs and suggest actions to improve the current scenario. The SAP LAP framework was developed using personnel semi-structured interviews with nineteen experts having more than ten years of experience from nine leading SDOs. Overall, the study identifies fifteen challenges and thirteen actions to overcome the challenges to DTA utilization in SDOs. Finally, implications for practitioners and policymakers are discussed.