Glossary
Social Benchmarking
What is social benchmarking?
Social benchmarking compares a person's or organization's behavior or performance with a reference group. The benchmark may be an average, a distribution, or a selected standard.
Research example
Allcott studied home energy reports that combined comparisons with neighboring households and energy-saving information. The program reduced average consumption in the studied setting.
Because the reports contained more than one component, the result cannot be assigned solely to the comparison.
Other social benchmarking examples
A team might compare its response times with similar teams. A company might compare an environmental measure with others in its industry. These are benchmarking arrangements; whether the comparison leads to improvement is a separate question.
Why the benchmark matters
A comparison needs a relevant reference group and a comparable measure. A peer average tells you what others do. It does not tell you what you should aim for.
Check what the measure leaves out. Faster responses, for example, do not necessarily mean better help. Ask whether pursuing the benchmark advances the real objective or simply improves the reported number.