Business Models as Models Charles Baden-Fuller and Mary S. Morgan Drawing on research undertaken in the history and philosophy of science, with particular reference to the extensive literature which discusses the use of models in biology and economics, we explore the question ‘Are Business Models useful?’ We point out that they act as various forms of model: to provide means to describe and classify businesses; to operate as sites for scientific investigation; and to act as recipes for creative managers. We argue that studying business models as models is rewarding in that it enables us to see how they embody multiple and mediating roles. We illustrate our ideas with reference to practices in the real world and to academic analyses, especially in this Long Range Planning Special Issue on Business Models. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Does the idea of business models matter? The term has become widely used in board rooms, by managers in organisations, by consultants, by commentators of business, and even on radio and television programmes aimed at the general public. Indeed, it is more widely used nowadays than almost any other concept in strategy: when people are asked ‘what is strategy’? most give an answer that includes the words business model. The ubiquity of the term and the plethora of its uses suggest that business models are profoundly important to the world of work e yet man- agement academics rarely put the concept centre stage, preferring their established stresses on such concepts as competitive advantage, core capabilities, routines and resources. Public perception of its usefulness seems to fly against this academic reluctance (in main-stream journals and texts) to acknowledge the term, its uses and its consequences. This article suggests answers to the questions ‘Why is the concept of business models useful’? and ‘Who uses them, for what, and how?’ We have sought answers that take seriously the ways in which business models function as models in various different forms, and brought into the management field insights drawn from writing and first hand research by historians and philosophers of science who have probed how models are used in disciplines beyond the management arena. Models, mod- elling and their discussion have a long history - particularly in biology and economics - that Long Range Planning 43 (2010) 156e171 http://www.elsevier.com/locate/lrp 0024-6301/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.lrp.2010.02.005