External financial diagnosis and human resources management: necessity and relevance of the social balance sheet.

Summary The purpose of this research is twofold: the first, theoretical part, first establishes the necessity of obtaining quality social information in order to evaluate the risk-return balance of the firm. The problems posed by the external analysis of this information are also developed. These problems result in particular from the incompleteness of the theoretical models that link human resources and performance. These models are presented, as well as the insights provided by the numerous empirical studies devoted to the subject. The second part, which is empirical, tests the informational contribution of the social balance sheet from an external financial diagnostic perspective. This statistical work is based on social and financial data panels covering the period 1982-1989. These data make it possible to identify simultaneous and delayed associations between social variables and performance. Within the limits of the sample tested, the results show that the social balance sheet provides the investor with interesting elements, likely to shed light on the necessary control of the social management of managers.