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Purpose – Generally speaking this chapter examines if Max Weber's theory of the protestant ethic helps explain socioeconomic progress currently seen in some communities in Latin America where Protestantism has advanced rapidly.

Methodology/approach – This chapter is a case study. It reviews the literature on San Pedro de Almolonga, a small indigenous town in western Guatemala, and presents the results of our ethnographic fieldwork in the town and its surroundings during January 2011.

Findings – Almolonga has become a very prosperous town through the production and commercialization of vegetables. Prosperity has emerged due to the high fertility of the soil, the entrepreneurial skills of its inhabitants, and the high market demand for vegetables. Protestantism has been an almost perfect complement that has made possible the maximization of Almolonga's economic potential.

This thirty-second volume in the REA series represents a joint effort between two former students of Norbert Dannhaeuser, who edited REA together with his colleague Cynthia Werner from 2001 to 2005, and who served as the chair of both Donald's and Ty's M.A. thesis committees at Texas A&M University. Norbert also was chair of Ty's Ph.D. committee. Donald was just settling on Japan as his geographic focus in anthropology around 1993, and although this was not Norbert's specialty he was very familiar with the canon of postwar Japanese village studies. Introducing Donald to this body of work had a tremendous influence on his academic development and his future path. Prior to this more intensive and focused guidance, however, it was taking Norbert's core Anthropological Theory (ANTH 410) course at Texas A&M in the autumn term of 1992 – exactly 20 years ago – that convinced Donald to commit himself to a career in anthropology in the first place. Similarly, Ty's career development as an anthropologist owes a considerable debt to Norbert. The knowledge acquired from him both in the field (the Philippines) and classroom (Texas A&M University) has proven indispensable in influencing Ty's geographical and topical focus. Both of us would like to take this opportunity to thank Norbert for all of his guidance and encouragement. We humbly dedicate this volume of REA to him in honor of all of his contributions to the field of anthropology, and also out of gratitude for his support when we were just starting out.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework with which to understand the issues that arise in the discussion cases included in this Special Issue and explains the role of case studies in the education of those responsible for leading organizations.

This paper is based upon the review of literature from a range of disciplines, all of which is relevant to executive learning; the analysis of the cases and papers in this Special Issue, and interviews with colleagues who use the case method.

The case method is useful in the education of managerial decision makers who face complex situations, but it is most effective when the cases contain certain essential ingredients and when the instructor is skilled in discussion leadership. These ingredients include the presence of a protagonist, the deep description of a problematic situation, the existence of at least two reasonable courses of action, and sufficient data to evaluate each alternative. The interactive nature of case discussions reinforces those values and behaviors that associate with civility.

Since some of the discussion cases were in the process of completion, it was not always possible to evaluate the experience with their use in the classroom.

The introductory paper points to broader opportunities for the use of the case method, and for its adaptation to experiential learning, than is generally recognized in academia.

The use of discussion cases in management schools, where future business leaders interact with professors and classmates in an environment of critical learning and respect for opinions of others, encourages behaviors of civility.

This introductory paper is valuable in providing a framework to integrate and make sense of the diverse topics, situations, and contexts described in the cases contained in the Special Issue.