This conceptual study seeks to bridge established theory on maturity models (MMs) and business model innovation (BMI). Extant literature discusses BMI as a source of competitive advantage (Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart 2011; Chesbrough 2007; Mitchell and Coles 2003) and potentially the most challenging type of innovation (Björkdahl and Holmén 2013, Lindgardt et al. 2009). A study by Christensen et al. (2016) shows that the BMI success rate for firms is low, which is reflected in high error indices. The high degree of uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity associated with BMI carries a high risk of corporate failure in the transformation of business models, especially due to the lack of required skills, knowledge as well as suited processes and mechanisms to support successful BMI. Moreover, De Fazio (2017) suggest that in order for companies to reap the full benefits of innovation, it should be ubiquitous, controlled, measurable and strategically implemented, and must therefore be supported by appropriate analytical models, processes and tools. Whereas BMI is often triggered by unpredictable changes in an organization’s external environment (Brasseur et al. 2017; Şimşit et al. 2014; Steinhöfel et al. 2016), we base our study on the assumption that organizational change and development occur in predictable patterns. MMs represent theories about how organizational maturity evolves in a stage-by-stage manner along an anticipated, desired, or logical maturation path (Röglinger and Pöppelbuß 2011). Following this rationale MMs are utilized as diagnostic tools that enable organizations to describe maturity in the context of an as-is assessment, thus providing guidelines on how to reach the next, higher maturity level (Ofner et al. 2009; Röglinger and Pöppelbuß 2011). Röglinger and Pöppelbuß (2011) suggest that attention to MMs is expected to increase a prediction corroborated by the numerous proprietary models proposed by software companies and consultancies (Scott 2007). Recent literature also reports an increasing academic interest in maturity models (Becker et al. 2010). Despite the existence of various innovation MMs, there is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no specific MM for BMI. This study contributes to the innovation management and business model literature by assessing how BMI and MMs can be conceptually bridged. The aim of the paper is to identify boundary conditions for a subsequent design of an integrated MM for BMI that enables the assessment, benchmarking and progress of organizational maturity with regard to BMI.