In a highly dynamic environment, business model innovation (BMI) is a promising approach to remain competitive. In practice, however, adapting an existing business model and developing a new one remains a difficult task for managers of established firms. Therefore, scholars call for a comprehensive framework to guide managers through the BMI process. The purpose of our conceptual paper is to highlight when and at what organizational level critical internal BMI barriers occur in order to highlight the various leadership challenges during the BMI process at incumbent firms. We conduct an analysis including analyzing and categorizing critical BMI barriers identified from the literature based on the 4-I framework of Frankenberger et al. (2013). We derive an integrative framework that provides managers and researchers with a comprehensive overview of the internal barriers in the BMI process. We contribute to the current debate on the role of leadership, organizational structure, and organizational culture in BMI development. This paper provides an important foundation for two groups of readers: 1) academics who can establish theory-based relationships between the individual and organizational level, and 2) incumbent managers who can use the framework developed to derive company-specific policies to overcome their internal BMI obstacles.