Transforming Hospitality Workforces Through Adaptive Human Resource Management

Hospitality human resource (HR) practices are undergoing fundamental transformation, where traditional HR models—predicated on standardization and hierarchical control—prove increasingly inadequate in addressing contemporary workforce complexities. This misalignment stems from systemic pressures, including accelerating technological integration, generational cleavages in work values, the proliferation of alternative employment models, heightened demands for inclusive cultures, and so forth. The collection of research in this special issue features a shift toward adaptive capabilities deemed necessary to tackle those challenges. Drawing on these, we propose Adaptive Hospitality HR (AHR)—a conceptual framework that repositions human resource management as a dynamic, strategic lever for organizational adaptation.