#TalkThree 07: How to Understand “X as Y”
X as Nail, Y as Hammer, and Beyond
The “X as Y” technique is a simple heuristic tool for theoretical development. It is also a key for learning theories. Basically, we can understand “X as Y” as “Nail” and “Hammer”.
- X: Nail
- Y: Hammer
- X as Y: Using Y (a hammer) to understand X (a nail)
X refers to a thing we want to understand while Y refers to a tool for our understanding. For learning theories and making theories, Y tends to be a perspective.
A great example of “X as Y” is “Strategy as Practice” which is a new approach to Strategy Research. In 2018, I learned the approach by reading The Cambridge Handbook of Strategy as Practice (Second Edition, 2015). Chapter 1 of the handbook is titled Practice in research: phenomenon, perspective, and philosophy. The author Wanda J. Orlikowski distinguishes three modes of engaging with practice in organizational research (p.33):
- Practice as a phenomenon: what is most important in organizational research is understanding what happens “in practice”, as opposed to what is derived or expected from “theory”;
- Practice as a perspective: the articulation of a practice-centered theory about some aspect of organizations;
- Practice as a…
