A Theoretical Lens on Maturity Models As Boundary Objects

Abstract

Maturity models (MMs) are an important Information Systems artefact with grounding in multidisciplinary theory and significant impact in practice. However, despite a four-decades development history, hundreds of maturity models and the high impact on practice, this type of artefact is still under-explored in terms of the role as an artefact bridging academic and professional communities. Therefore, and based on a theory-development approach, our paper positions MMs as a value-adding boundary object providing recommendations for how the Information Systems community could further capitalize on MMs. We extend the MM conceptualization with ten design principles across three knowledge boundary levels that need to be spanned among different stakeholder groups. These levels cover an information processing level (i.e., MM’s structure), an interpretive level (i.e., MM’s flexibility) and a pragmatic level (i.e., MM’s legitimacy). Finally, we discuss how and why MMs can be used to further span intra- and inter-organizational boundaries.