Introducing a Sport Experience Design (SX) framework for sport consumer behaviour research

•Sport consumer academic research requires theoretical development.•Methodology used should be diversified and strengthened.•Emerging technologies and product expansion will influence research direction.•A Sport Experience Design (SX) framework is introduced and discussed.•Research should focus on “using” sport experiences with appropriate methods.Sport Management Review celebrates 20 years of publishing research, and this milestone provides an opportunity to reflect on sport consumer research and offer possible directions for scholarship. This article utilizes a panel of 17 academic scholars to examine sport consumer research published in SMR as an exemplar; and then, more broadly, how to enhance sport consumer research and identify future trends in the sport industry. This information, combined with an article analysis, revealed two key findings. First, the quality of scholarship was acknowledged with noted weaknesses related to improving and diversifying methodology, stronger attention to theoretical development, and relevance to industry. Second, traditional boundaries of sport consumer research will expand due to technology, a broadening sport landscape, and links to other academic disciplines. In order to account for industry trends and address noted theoretical limitations, a Sport Experience Design (SX) framework is introduced, which consists of three interrelated elements: (a) the sport context in which a sport consumer navigates through an experience and interacts with touchpoints, (b) the sport user, with mental processes, psychological needs, and personal characteristics, and (c) the sport organization, which produces the sport experience to achieve organizational goals. The framework provides a holistic consumer-centred approach that considers cognitive, organizational, and physical relevant design factors that enhance customer satisfaction and engagement by improving use and pleasure of sport experiences.