UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Edward Jaenicke, assistant professor of agricultural economics in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has received the 2006 Roy C. Buck Faculty Award in the Agricultural Sciences for his article, "Follow the Leader? Adoption Behavior in Food Retailers' Decision to Offer Fresh Irradiated Ground Beef."

The award recognizes the best refereed article by an untenured faculty member in the college whose research involves the social or human sciences published in a scholarly journal in the previous two years. Co-authored with agricultural economists from Louisiana State University, the University of Tennessee and Utah State University, Jaenicke's article was published in the Fall 2006 issue of "Agribusiness: An International Journal."

The article investigates the factors that influenced U.S. supermarkets' adoption of irradiated ground beef for sale under the stores' own labels. The researchers surveyed supermarket managers during a 14-month period and found that factors associated with competition, merchandising philosophy and structure in the food-retailing industry greatly influence the decision. A significant finding was that once a leader/innovator enters a market, other supermarkets in the same geographic market are more likely to follow their lead. The study also indicates that store size and corporate structure are important factors.

"This paper embodies the type of research that is the hallmark of the land-grant university," says Bruce McPheron, associate dean for research in the college. "Jaenicke and his co-authors have thoroughly investigated a national issue, from the proposal of a new technology to its implementation and adoption."

Prior to joining the Penn State faculty in 2001, Jaenicke was an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee. He has a bachelor's degree in economics from Wesleyan University and a doctorate in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Maryland.

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Editors: Contact Edward Jaenicke at 814-865-5282 or by e-mail at tjaenicke@psu.edu.

Gary Abdullah, Writer/Editor 814-863-2708 gxa2@psu.edu