Club research: A review and research agenda

Private clubs constitute a distinctive hospitality context defined by membership-based governance, shared authority, and long-term relational exchange, yet existing scholarship remains theoretically fragmented. This study systematically reviews 67 SSCI-indexed journal articles published through 2025 to examine the thematic evolution, theoretical foundations, and methodological patterns of club research. Using multi-layered bibliometric and content-based analyses, the review shows that research has expanded from managerial competency and member satisfaction toward innovation, governance, and digital engagement, but remains divided between consumer-experience and organization-centric management perspectives. This fragmentation under-theorizes clubs as hybrid governance-service institutions, especially at the member–management interface where authority, legitimacy, accountability, and value co-creation intersect. Methodological reliance on cross-sectional quantitative designs, U.S.-centric samples, and single-stakeholder perspectives further constrains cumulative theory building. Grounded in an institutional governance lens, the review advances a hybrid governance perspective and proposes future research on member–management dynamics, multi-role members, and access-sensitive, multi-stakeholder methods suited to private club settings.