Learning from each other: promises and pitfalls of benchmarking in communications policy

Purpose – International benchmarking is increasingly used to inform information and communications policy. The paper aims to discuss the conditions under which learning from the experience in other jurisdictions (communities, nations, and super‐national regions) is possible.Design/methodology/approach – Research from different disciplines is reviewed and synthesized to provide an integrated conceptual framework that can be used to design more robust international benchmarking approaches.Findings – Drawing lessons from the policy experience in other jurisdictions is more difficult than is commonly perceived. Nonetheless, as long as the conditions for policy learning are met and it is properly done, international comparisons yield valuable data that can be used to improve the design of information and communications policy.Research limitations/implications – In conducting internationally comparative inquiries, researchers need to ascertain that the prerequisites of the methods employed are aligned with the ...