ABSTRACT
Businesses strive to establish a strong position within their market using a unique quality that differentiates them from their competitors. To achieve this goal, businesses might use “twisted means,” often perceived as deceptive actions. Deception has always been a part of human nature, regardless of the ethicality of such human attitude, and its potential for harm. In this chapter, I argue that the purpose of adopting such an attitude is to paint a heroic image of the organization to enhance its reputation; this is what I call “Faking Heroism.” The goal of this chapter is to argue that Faking Heroism is a mechanism of achieving a “Mafia Offer,” a concept borrowed from the Theory of Constraints (TOC). It explores Faked Heroism and its role in attaining a Mafia Offer using recent examples such as professional cyclist Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal and Volkswagen’s faked “environmentally friendly” image.
