This article explores the multifaceted role of business models as models in management and beyond. Drawing on the history and philosophy of science, particularly the use of models in biology and economics, the authors argue that business models serve multiple functions: they provide taxonomic and typological classifications of firms, function as scientific instruments for investigation, and act as practical recipes for creative managers. The article highlights how business models can be understood as scale models, role models, model organisms, and recipes, each serving distinct but complementary roles. Scale models offer concise descriptions of firm behaviors, role models serve as ideal cases to emulate, model organisms facilitate in-depth studies of specific firms, and recipes provide a framework for innovation and variation within constraints. The authors conclude that business models are not static but dynamic entities that evolve through experimentation and adaptation, and they play multiple roles simultaneously, contributing to both academic research and practical management.This article explores the multifaceted role of business models as models in management and beyond. Drawing on the history and philosophy of science, particularly the use of models in biology and economics, the authors argue that business models serve multiple functions: they provide taxonomic and typological classifications of firms, function as scientific instruments for investigation, and act as practical recipes for creative managers. The article highlights how business models can be understood as scale models, role models, model organisms, and recipes, each serving distinct but complementary roles. Scale models offer concise descriptions of firm behaviors, role models serve as ideal cases to emulate, model organisms facilitate in-depth studies of specific firms, and recipes provide a framework for innovation and variation within constraints. The authors conclude that business models are not static but dynamic entities that evolve through experimentation and adaptation, and they play multiple roles simultaneously, contributing to both academic research and practical management.