Vertical and Horizontal Information flows : The case of SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome )

As high-speed technology connections open the doors to globalization and international exchanges, the potential to exchange a wider range of information across organizational and national boundaries increases. This study explores how the spread of SARS brought to light the potential impact of national culture on time sensitive information exchanges. Due to the rapid spreading and deadly nature of the SARS virus it became critical to mobilize information about the disease within and between national boundaries. These information exchanges can be classified by directionality of flow (vertical or horizontal and within or between organizations or national boundaries) and by the content of the information. This study classifies directionality of flow as vertical or horizontal and within or between countries. The content of the information exchanges was categorized into 3 information domains: 1) information about the spread of the epidemic 2) information about the causal agent of the disease, and 3) information about diagnosis and treatment of the disease. We propose that national culture impacts the directionality, volume, speed, and content of these flows of information. We focus this study on China and Canada (two hot spots for SARs) and investigate information exchange by utilizing secondary source information (newspaper articles and web sites) to map how SARs related information flowed during the period of January 1, 2003 through July 15, 2003. Introduction Information and communication technologies have become ubiquitous in supporting knowledge work worldwide. Thanks primarily to the Internet, opportunities for cross-boundary information sharing and collaboration (within organizations, as when information is shared across departmental or functional lines; and across organizations, as when firms collaborate on joint R&D projects or hospitals collaborate to provide telemedicinebased care) have increased dramatically in the past decade. As many have observed, cross-boundary collaboration has become a necessity for organizational survival in information-intensive industries. Information and communication technologies also support cross-cultural collaboration, which is becoming increasingly important as companies embark on globalization strategies and seek offshore partners. The purpose of this paper is to examine cross-cultural and cross-boundary information sharing in a domain where time pressure is a critical element. Specifically, we will propose a study that examines how scientists, healthcare professionals, and public-health officials in China and Canada disseminated information related to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003. When the disease was first disclosed in February 2003, it quickly became evident that SARS was spreading far beyond China, largely due to air travel. There was intense pressure to rapidly isolate the responsible virus, establish ways to accurately diagnose patients (despite symptoms