Combating Information Disorder in Healthcare: A Vaccine Supply Chain Case

Abstract

The COVID-19 vaccine supply chain faced unprecedented disruption from information disorder (collectively, misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation (MDM)). While prior research has examined the societal and health consequences of information disorder, little is known about how it disrupts supply chain management (SCM) or how supply chain actors respond. Guided by organizational information processing theory (OIPT) and stakeholder theory (ST), this study employs an embedded qualitative case study of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine supply chain. We find that crisis-induced MDM functioned as an exogenous shock that heightened uncertainty and equivocality, overwhelming information-processing capacity, and fragmenting stakeholder responsibility. Downstream actors (i.e., pharmacies and clinicians) were disproportionately burdened in their efforts to combat MDM, relying largely on reactive tactics. Additionally, SC actors prioritized correcting false claims while deferring attribution of intent. This led to the conflation of misinformation and disinformation and the underdiagnosis of malinformation. By integrating OIPT and ST, we develop a framework that explains how information-processing misfit and shifting stakeholder salience jointly produce operational disruption and uneven accountability. Our findings extend SCM theory by conceptualizing MDM as a systemic supply chain risk and offer actionable guidance to improve resilience and trust.