Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the epistemology of benchmarking and identify methodological elements of a theory of benchmarking. Design/methodology/approach – A thematic approach is applied to origins, primal and functional definitions of benchmarking. Findings –...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the necessary or sufficient methodological elements contributing to benchmarking's effectiveness and to establish them within an acceptable theoretical framework: a theory of benchmarking. Design/methodology/approach – A causal approach is...