University, Hochsch. für Wirtschafts-, Rechts- und Sozialwiss., Diss.--St. Gallen, 1997.

La réservation du savoir-faire : l'apport du contrat / The reservation of know-how: the contribution of the contract

Jena, University, Diss., 2008.

Zugl.: Hamburg, Helmut-Schmidt-Universiẗat, Habil.-Schr., 2007.

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2006.

Diss. Wirtsch.-wiss. St. Gallen, 2005 ; Nr. 3076. / Literaturverz.

There is an as yet unacknowledged and incomparable contribution to the philosophical debates about know-how to be found in the writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein. It is sourced in his investigations into knowledge and certainty in On Certainty, though it is not limited to these late passages. Understanding the ramifications of this putative contribution (even if one does not agree with it) highlights the extent to which (i) there is now a new range of issues pertaining to know-how which no future philosophical consideration of the topic can ignore, except on pain of failing to engage comprehensively with the subject; (ii) the topic of know-how has been inappropriately marginalised by naturalized epistemology, and may well be as central to epistemology as the propositional knowledge which currently dominates epistemology’s attention; and (iii) any engagement with these potential Wittgensteinian contributions will need to be conducted in tandem with a reflection on the meta-philosophy of epistemology, since their potential impact extends to epistemology’s main methodology, i.e., naturalized reflective equilibrium. These three conclusions, together with a diagnosis of where and why all the current intellectualist accounts of know-how are either internally inconsistent, or irreconcilably flawed on their own terms, provide the motivation and the opportunity for a New Epistemology of Know-How. These conclusions established, I offer one possible Wittgensteinian-orientated version of the New Epistemology of Know-How, providing the first example of a non-naturalized philosophical approach to the topic since Gilbert Ryle.

Zugl.: Aachen, Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2007.

Zugl.: Köln, Univ., Diss., 2006

In most of the fields, manufacturers are continuously pushed by the market to provide turnkey solutions to the clients. This phenomenon is especially appearing in recycled water projects since the water treatment technology is very specific and complicated to operate. To understand this trend, a real case study is conducted in Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (VWS) in Australia. This thesis analyses the main reasons for VWS to propose Product/Service System (PSS) and the tools and methods used to provide such a solution. The internal structure of the company and its supply network are studied to understand the balance and VWS trade-off between technical risk decreasing, time to market reduction, innovation development and know-how protection. The role of synergies by VWS group companies is raised as a key to achieve the proper balance. These synergies are the result of the company strategy to focus on innovation rather than on know-how protection while the PSS structure and network provide great opportunities for time to market reduction and risk decreasing with optimized communication between stakeholders.