Making Retroduction Transparent: Integrating Danermark's Explanatory Protocol and the RRREIC Framework for Mechanism-Based Explanation in Critical Realist Qualitative Research

Despite the growing influence of Critical Realism (CR) in organisational research, a persistent gap separates its philosophical commitments from its methodological practice: studies claiming a CR orientation routinely invoke retroduction and generative mechanisms without specifying how those concepts are implemented in data analysis. This article addresses this gap by introducing a practically operationalised, replicable analytical protocol integrating Danermark et al.'s (2002) seven-stage explanatory protocol with the RRREIC inferential framework. Three methodological contributions are made: (1) a replicable seven-stage protocol supported by five ready-to-use instruments; (2) the novel principle of prospective instrument-framework alignment; and (3) reconceptualisation of the Correction stage as the primary site of theoretical development through negative cases. All instruments are provided as ready-to-use templates. Submitted to Organizational Research Methods (SAGE).