In the period 2003 to 2005, a case study was conducted in an institution of higher education that was in the process of upgrading its status from being a college to that of a university college. A part of that change involved lecturers having to make a shift from being mainly concerned with teaching, to doing research as well. The case study looked into the perceptions and attitudes of the lecturers in making the behavioural and cultural change, from the perspective of knowledge worker motivation. In particular, it inquired into the nature of knowledge worker motivation as being intrinsically or extrinsically governed. A survey of all the lecturers was made through questionnaires and in depth interviews were conducted in a specific department. An 'intervention' in the form of a series of seminars to assess lecturers' perceptions of their research capabilities, was also implemented. A comparison of the empirical evidence and theoretical frameworks on knowledge worker motivation, led to findings that suggest that the three main factors of culture, career and commitment, underlie that motivation. Further, that the nature of knowledge worker motivation may need to be extrinsically derived. This in turn, would hold implications for future research into the intrinsically driven nature of knowledge worker motivation, as being the general case.