The theory and practice of benchmarking: then and now

The literature related to benchmarking practices and theory was reviewed from 1986 to 2000. The earlier stages of benchmarking developments stressed a process and/or activity orientation. Recently, however, the scope of benchmarking appears to have expanded to include strategies and systems. Despite recent advancements, the field of benchmarking still suffers from the lack of theoretical developments which are badly needed to guide its multi‐faceted applications.