To Örebro University

While the Swedish hospitality industry is experiencing substantial growth, this growth comes with a cost, as the industry has neither the knowledge nor the incentive to pay enough attention to human resource development. This continuous growth will therefore impose challenges and erect obstacles once the industry begins expanding again after the pandemic. Insofar as attracting, engaging and retaining talent are the biggest challenges, it might be time to go back to the drawing board and identify a possible shift to an employee-based approach to developing businesses. Based on interviews with managers and owners representing 28 predominantly seasonal restaurants in the Swedish coastal region of Bohuslän, this study identifies current obstacles and challenges facing the Swedish restaurant industry with a clear focus on the concept of human capital. The results of the study clearly indicate that human resource development (HRD) is by far the most critical factor in addressing staffing issues and overcoming the difficulty involved in attracting, engaging, and retaining not only enough staff but more importantly staff with basic knowledge, experience, and interest. The aim here is to initiate a shift to a more direct and sustained focus on human capital in the hospitality industry, from the perspective of human capital theory, by highlighting some of the most highly relevant factors associated with this perspective. According to an employee-driven restaurant analysis (EDRA) approach, a shortage of human capital could pose the biggest obstacle to further development, as restaurants find it increasingly difficult to attract, engage and retain employees for all positions.