Charting the intellectual structure of customer experience research

Purpose Contemporary firms are increasingly focusing on enhancing the customer experience (CX) to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. However, despite the rapid growth of CX research from both the customer's and the firm's perspectives, the intellectual structure of CX research remains tenuous, thus requiring further investigation. Addressing this gap, the authors review and map the existing corpus of CX literature, from which important implications are drawn. Design/methodology/approach After inventorizing the CX literature (1997-2021), the authors apply bibliometric (e.g. co-citation) analysis to identify key CX articles and pertinent CX-publishing journals, followed by the identification of key CX research themes through network analysis. Findings The authors first document chief CX-publishing journals and articles and identify their respective contributions. The authors, then, derive five core CX themes, including CX through the customer journey, S-D Logic-informed CX, interactive service-based CX, CX in the servicescape and CX and consumption. The authors conclude by developing an agenda for future CX research based on the study findings. Originality/value By offering a pioneering analysis of the corpus of CX research (1997-2021), these analyses offer a pertinent theoretical contribution.