How to stand on the shoulders of adversary: configurational insights of knowledge spillover in cross-border patent litigation

Cross-border knowledge spillover is vital for latecomer firms in emerging economies. Taking cross-border patent litigation as a context where developed firms seek technological blockades yet litigation procedures generate involuntary spillovers, this study aims to elucidate how defendant firms can leverage this knowledge spillover during foreign patent litigation. This study employs fsQCA to discuss the combined effects of conditional variables on knowledge spillover during lawsuits, with a sample of foreign patent disputes involving Chinese firms as defendants in US courts. Drawing on the ‘Awareness-Motivation-Capability’ framework and conducting comparative case studies, we summarised five types of firms which can obtain high knowledge spillover during foreign patent litigation, including ‘market sensitive, technology diversified’ firms, ‘technology sensitive, international oriented’ firms, ‘technology specialization, human capital enablement’ firms, ‘domestic market-targeted, technology synergy’ firms and ‘political compensation’ firms. These findings offer theoretical insights into knowledge spillover literature, and provide guidance for firms to transform litigation threats into learning opportunities.