Business model (BM) designs influence firm performance (Foss and Saebi, 2017; Zott and Amit, 2007). Hence, the call by scholars for greater research effort directed at clarifying macro- and firm-level factors moderating BM designs e firm performance relationship (e.g. Foss and Saebi, 2017). Moreover, scholars have highlighted the need for improving our nascent understanding of the performance implications of simultaneously deploying several BM designs (Snihur and Tarzijan, 2017). Finally, there is a paucity of systematic research examining the relevance of BMs in different contexts, for example, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and emerging economies (George and Bock, 2011). This study1 addresses these recent calls by investigating the effect of internal (firm’s age) and external (environmental dynamism and munificence) contingencies on BM designs e firm performance relationship. Furthermore, this study explores the performance implications of operating two different BM designs simultaneously (BM dual design) and the conditions favouring the deployment of BM dual designs using a sample of SMEs operating in an emerging economy. The extant BM literature, despite advancing knowledge, has paid scant attention to the moderating effect of external and internal contingencies on BM designs e firm performance relationship (Foss and Saebi, 2017; Zott et al., 2011). A firm’s age is an important internal contingency factor because it influences its capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses (Carr et al., 2010), that help or hinder its ability to capture the value created by the BM design. On the other hand, a firm’s external environment is a source of opportunities and challenges (Ahlstrom and Bruton, 2006; London and Hart, 2004) potentially impacting BM designs e firm performance relationship. We contend that it is not possible to fully understand the BM designs e firm performance relationship without including critical contingent factors in theory development and testing. Additionally, despite the suggestion that more and more firms simultaneously deploy multiple BM designs (Casadesus-Masanell and Tarzijan, 2012; McNamara et al., 2013; Velu and Stiles, 2013), there is a lack of theoretical and empirical agreement as to the usefulness of simultaneously deploying dual BM design (Snihur and Tarzijan, 2017). The primary aim of this study is to address these gaps, thus advancing theory and knowledge.