A quantum leap in informal benchmarking : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Organisational Excellence at Massey University, Palmerston North, Manawatu, New Zealand
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Date
2017
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Massey University
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Abstract
Despite the paucity of available literature on informal benchmarking and the consequential
lack of its understanding, informal benchmarking has outranked established benchmarking
(formal), placing 4th out of 20 of the most used business improvement tools, based on a
2008 Global Benchmarking Network (GBN) survey of 450 organisations worldwide. This
paradox is exacerbated by the growing popularity of informal benchmarking, even though it
is not correspondingly as effective as it is widely used. Therefore, two significant gaps need
be filled: firstly, to develop a theoretical understanding of, and secondly, to investigate how
to increase the effectiveness of informal benchmarking as an organisational improvement
tool.
A pragmatic mixed method quantitative-qualitative sequential design using an abductivedeductive-
inductive approach is adopted. The product of abduction is a preliminary
conceptual model of informal benchmarking from the transdisciplinary academic review of
benchmarking, informal learning, organisation learning and knowledge management,
augmented by concepts on quantum thinking, innovation and positive deviance. The model
informs the quantitative survey questionnaire, whose deductive results of 81 survey
responses from 14 countries informs the in-depth semi-structured interviews of 16
informants from 7 countries, the resulting dataset being inductively coded into conceptuallydriven
dendrograms. The integrated findings refine the conceptual model of informal
benchmarking, and develops a toolset-based application model (a pragmatic outcome of the
conceptual model), a maturity assessment framework and an eco-system strategy. From
here, an informal benchmarking roadmap is synthesised, representing a sustainable
platform for informal benchmarking to be deployed as an effective organisational
improvement initiative.
The research sets the stage for a leap in scholarly understanding of informal benchmarking
in the wider context of business and organisational improvement, and offers organisational
improvement practitioners an invaluable cost-effective solution in a time-scarce executive
world. This pragmatic study of informal benchmarking has possibly unleashed a different
epistemological stance within the benchmarking field, by advocating an organic approach to
benchmarking, in contrast to the highly methodical approaches associated with conventional
benchmarking.
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Keywords
Benchmarking (Management), Organizational effectiveness