This paper focuses on how firms use exploitation and exploration to develop strategic agility, and how strategic agility impacts the international performance of firms from emerging markets. Analyzing proprietary data on firms operating in India , we find that exploration and exploitation help them develop strategic agility. Explorative agility is shown to improve international performance in competitive environments, while exploitative agility enhances it in dynamic ones. Our paper contributes in examining the role of exploration and exploitation as the antecedents of strategic agility, and their contingent effects on international performance in environmental uncertainties. The discussion provides guidance for managers coping with environmental uncertainties in the international markets.