This systematic data-driven review examines current state of the literature on high performance work systems (HPWS) and identifies future research directions in the human resource development (HRD) literature, using bibliometric analysis and content analysis of 789 peer-reviewed articles published between 1996 and 2021. Firstly, this study presents yearly trends, influential articles, journals, and countries in the HPWS literature. Moreover, by employing bibliographic coupling and content analysis in conjunction, this study reveals the following key research themes: (1) HPWS and organizational performance, (2) HPWS and individual-level outcomes, (3) Human Resource (HR) systems-HPWS-performance link, and (4) Diversification of the HPWS research contexts. Based on the findings, we propose future research directions for HRD scholars, including the need to investigate the influences of HPWS utilization in the contexts of pandemic and uncertainty, sustainability, the adoption of HPWS in small and medium-sized enterprises, and the dark side of HPWS.
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