The dark side of people management: a systematic literature review of nonlinear effects of HRM and leadership

This paper systematically examines the dark side of people management, that is, the combination of HRM and leadership. We conceptualize the ‘dark side’ as the nonlinear effects of people management and its components: we focus on instances in which higher levels of HRM and leadership do not result in better outcomes, which contradicts the assumption underlying most HRM and leadership research. Studying these nonlinear relationships is a research avenue that is gaining significance but contains theoretical and methodological challenges. In response, this study systematically maps the existing literature (N = 71 empirical articles) on nonlinear effects of people management, its components and outcomes. In doing so, we explore: 1) evidence for nonlinear relationships between people management and outcomes, and 2) theoretical explanations for the direct and mediated nonlinear relationships, and 3) moderators for these nonlinear relationships. This review shows that nonlinear effects of people management and its components have been observed in both HRM and leadership studies. Further, the findings showed that the theoretical underpinning of nonlinear relationships is wanting and that a coherent theoretical foundation is lacking. We present a research agenda to further facilitate the development of this emerging research avenue from infancy to a consolidated area of study.