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arising as a result of these two bi-lateral collaborations and
analyzed the actual experiences of government and partner
organizations. The resultant conclusions lay the foundation for
future work that goes beyond description, to build a more robust
theory of transnational knowledge- and information-sharing to
better address global problems [6, 7].
This study extends current knowledge about TPSKNs into a new
transnational context involving US and SA and a new policy
domain; public health. It expands context to include technological
context when exchange is centered on implementing a new system
or adopting an existing system. The study also expands
understanding of the influential factors deriving from knowledge
and information; organizational; and national layers of context.
This paper presents selected results from the study that addresses
the following research questions:
o What were the critical factors influencing sharing and
exchange activities during the adoption of the Hajj Mobile
Disease Surveillance System (Hajj-MDSS)?
o What is the impact of the identified factors on attaining the
stated goals of the collaboration?
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The study is guided by the Dynamic Model of Transnational
Knowledge Networks (DMTKN) developed recently by group of
researchers at the Center for Technology in Government (CTG) at
the University at Albany [6, 7]. The model depicts the contextual
complexity surrounding sharing activities in TPSKNs (Figure 1).
It identifies the contextual elements that characterize the external
and internal environments of the individual organizations that
participate in such networks. These contextual factors are
presented in the model as three layers of complexity: information
and knowledge content; organizational context; and national
context.
Figure 1. Dynamic Model of Transnational Knowledge
Networks [7]
The content layer represents the characteristics of the knowledge
and information being exchanged. Content layer captures the
influence of the existing characteristics of information, and
knowledge being exchanged. Many factors can influence sharing
activities at content layer. While some of these factors are relevant
regardless of the type of content that is exchanged, others become
important only for specific types of content. Thus, the first factor
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to examine at content layer is the type of content [8]. Following
that, value and sensitivity are to be explored, as they represent two
additional, important factors to be considered when any type of
content is exchanged [9-11] . In the case of information exchange,
the degree of standardization and the existence—or lack thereof—
of metadata describing the information represent additional
factors that has to be considered [9]. Finally, knowledge exchange
is influenced by the degree of embeddedness and articulability of
the exchanged knowledge [13, 14]. Table [1] lists and defines all
such factors which might influence exchange activities at the
content layer of complexity as proposed by the DMTKN.
Table 1. Factors related to technical, information, and
knowledge content
Factor Definition
Type Refers to the type of content being
exchanged (technology, information, or
Value
Sensitivity
knowledge).
Refers to the extent to which the content
being exchanged is perceived as an
organizational, social, or governmental
asset.
Refers to the qualities which make the
exchanged content vulnerable to misuse
or misunderstanding.
Data standards Refers to the extent to which there are
and definitions standard data formats and definitions.
Embeddedness Refers to the degree to which knowledge
is situated in or generated by ongoing
practice and learning by doing.
Articulability Refers to the extent to which knowledge
can be expressed in language, number,
formal procedures, and explicit
techniques.
The organizational context embodies the structures, capabilities,
and constraints of the governmental units involved in the
exchange [6]. The DMTKNs identifies many organizational-level
factors that may influence the effectiveness of TPSKNs. These
factors include the goals and interests of participating
organizations, trust, executive support and organizational
commitment, risks, costs, benefits, authority and hierarchical
structures, organizational culture, leadership, organizational rules
procedures, and regulations, resources, and absorptive capacity [9,
15-18]. Table [2] presents definitions for all such factors.
The national context layer corresponds to the cultures and
political systems surrounding the interaction [1]. Characteristics
of the external environment are likely to influence the sharing in
TPSKNs as indicated by previous research. A review of the
factors which might impede sharing activities at the national level
points to five main factors: national culture [16, 19, 20], laws and
policies [9, 12, 18], political support and interests [15], language
differences [21, 22], and geographic location [14, 22]. Table [3]
presents definitions for the stated factors.
The layers of context, surrounding each participating
organization, represent one of several components of the DMTKN
that emphasize the importance of context in two specific ways.
First, the model depicts the influence of the three layers being
discussed. Second, the layers of context and domestic