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In Business Information Systems, models usually refer to purposefully constructed abstractions that are intended to represent an existing or fictitious fact. A special form of models are conceptual models. Conceptual models are models that are characterized by a special feature: they aim at mapping the central, long-term valid concepts behind a subject. This also means that in a first step they abstract from technical details (e.g. specifics of a concrete programming language or technological platforms).

The abstraction of rapidly and frequently changing details towards temporally stable, invariant concepts promises, on the one hand, a higher economic efficiency of the models, since these models need to be changed and adapted less frequently and can be reused in a larger number of cases. On the other hand, they promise to promote communication between actors who are familiar with the concepts in the application domain.

Although conceptual modelling has already found its way into Business Information Systems at an early stage, a large number of interesting questions remain unanswered, e.g. on type formation (how to find appropriate types?) or on the connection and differentiation between instantiation and specialisation.