| Ideological work is a social psychological process through which individuals seek consistent rationalizations of personal beliefs and actions in the midst of contradictory pressures from culture and social structure. This case study explores the ideological work of banking officers from a range of organizational contexts in response to the distinct market, community, and regulatory meanings of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a federal law designed to improve credit access for residents of low- or moderate-income communities.;The study describes four "motive techniques" in the ideological work of CROs. Using techniques of complaint, officers described the specific contradictions they faced in their compliance work. CROs described the specific ways they managed these contradictions using techniques of avoidance, accommodation, and cooption. Based on combinations of these techniques, and influenced by contextual variables of officer background, officer position, organizational size, and organizational orientation to place, four motive "strategies"--Community Banker, Old School Banker, CRA Advocate, and CRA Product Specialist--are identified. Implications of each strategy for the justification of compliance behavior are explored.;The CRA Product Specialist strategy, used by officers at very large banks to describe special "CRA Lending" efforts, is of concern as a form of ideological artifact that may gain legitimacy due to the rapid concentration and centralization of the banking industry. Following insights from critical and interpretive traditions in socio-legal studies, this study suggests that the production of ideological work often enables officers to absorb the logic of community into the actuarial framework of the banking industry. This process shields the actuarial logic of the banking industry behind privatized forms of self subsidy that may contradict the regulatory intent of the CRA and weaken, rather than strengthen, organizing efforts in low income or minority income neighborhoods.;Following a replication logic for case selection, qualitative data was gathered from semi-structured interviews with eighteen Community Reinvestment Officers (CROs) in a selection of banks of differing sizes, market orientations, and CRA performance records. Additional data was gathered from key informant interviews, analysis of industry publications, and participant observation. |
