ABSTRACT
The name “benchmarking” has become very fashionable in the ‘90s but, as with so many fashionable ideas, other versions have been around for a long time. Companies operating in competitive environments, and those wishing to enter new markets or to develop new products, have often undertaken comparative performance measurement in the past. This comparison may have been called “industrial market research” or even on occasion “industrial espionage” rather than benchmarking.
