Performance benchmarking: bridging the gap between frontier analysis research and user-tailored decision support

Benchmarking is the process of comparing the performance of one unit against that of ‘best practice’ units. Benchmarking can be considered as a strategic tool that allows the firm to identify possible sources of improvement in order to increase its performance and competitiveness. It is particularly valuable when no objective or engineered standard is available to define efficient and effective performance (Sherman and Zhu, 2006).