PERCEPTION OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE ESSENTIAL FACTORS ON THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SMALL ADRIATIC SEAPORTS

The subject of the paper is to investigate the hypothetical perceptions of the impact of negative factors on the competitiveness development of selected small Adriatic seaports. The aim of the paper is to show that small Adriatic ports must accept the need for urgent investment in four selected and researched factors, which according to the respondents' perception are the key basis for the development of their competitiveness. In this sense, this paper starts from the basic hypothesis that for the small Adriatic ports of Koper, Rijeka, and Bar, the elimination of the deficit in strengthening the aforementioned factors (independent variables in the offered model) is a key condition for the growth of their port competitiveness. In other words, the considered factors represent a serious business barrier, which essentially acts as a negative externality and a limitation to the development of competitiveness. For researching the perception of respondents the multiple linear regression method is used. In the conclusion, the verification of the basic hypothesis is stated. In addition, it is concluded that the level of competitiveness is different in individually selected ports and that it is precisely the result of the action of selected influencing factors.