THE IMPACT OF CUSTOMER CONTACT AS PART OF THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL ON THE INCREASE OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS

The main objective of this paper stems from the need to provide new insights into the competitiveness of the agricultural products distribution system in the Republic of Serbia, through determining the impact of customer contact as part of the agricultural distribution channel on the competitiveness of agricultural holdings. The survey was conducted on a sample of 126 farms from the territory of the Republic of Serbia through a closed-type survey (12 claims related to customer contact and 15 claims related to the competitiveness of the agricultural products distribution system; five-stage Likert scale), which was distributed electronically. The contribution of the paper is reflected in the results which showed that the level of customer contact (as part of the distribution channel) influences the level of competitiveness of the agricultural products distribution system (in the Republic of Serbia). The results also form the basis for further research in this field. (C) 2020 EA. All rights reserved.