Human resource oriented antecedents to post-adoption technology performance

This study investigated the influence of human resource oriented antecedents to user perceptions toward the performance capabilities of a new logistics information tracking technology. Willingness to take risks, job relevance, trialability and technology trust were evaluated as antecedents to technology performance. The research examined the effect of these constructs on technology acceptance as a function of post-adoption perceptions of technology performance. A research model was developed and tested based in Rogers’ (2003) Innovation Diffusion Theory. Data from a mail survey were collected from 224 first-tier supply chain users of the technology. Structural equation modelling was used to test six hypothesized relationships for significance, direction, and intensity. The findings indicate that: (a) willingness to take risks and job relevance affect technology trust and technology performance; and, (b) trialability affects perceptions of technology performance. The results of this study advance our understanding of post-adoption perceptions of supply chain affiliates and offer suggestions for enhancing user perceptions of technology performance. Implications from this study along with suggestions for future research are provided

Semaphorin signals in cell adhesion and cell migration: functional role and molecular mechanisms

Cell migration is pivotal in embryo development and in the adult. During development a wide range of progenitor cells travel over long distances before undergoing terminal differentiation. Moreover, the morphogenesis of epithelial tissues and of the cardiovascular system involves remodelling compact cell layers and sprouting of new tubular branches. In the adult, cell migration is essential for leucocytes involved in immune response. Furthermore, invasive and metastatic cancer cells have the distinctive ability to overcome normal tissue boundaries, travel in and out of blood vessels, and settle down in heterologous tissues. Cell migration normally follows strict guidance cues, either attractive, or inhibitory and repulsive. Semaphorins are a wide family of signals guiding cell migration during development and in the adult. Recent findings have established that semaphorin receptors, the plexins, govern cell migration by regulating integrin-based cell substrate adhesion and actin cytoskeleton dynamics, via specific monomeric GTPases. Plexins furthermore recruit tyrosine kinases in receptor complexes, which allows switching between multiple signaling pathways and functional outcomes. In this article, we will review the functional role of semaphorins in cell migration and the implicated molecular mechanisms controlling cell adhesion