This study explores the dark side of people management, a combination of HRM and leadership. We conceptualize the ‘dark side’ as the nonlinear effects of people management and its components: that is, higher levels of HRM and leadership may not always result in correspondingly better outcomes. Given that this research avenue is coming of age, we explore the existing evidence on nonlinear relationships of people management and outcomes by conducting a systematic literature review based on 58 articles.
