Title: Lecturers as knowledge workers and the self-management of their intellectual capital growth and development from a teaching to a research-teaching fusion - a Malaysian case study

Authors: Anne P.C. Ho; Peter Charles Woods; Azira Abd Aziz; Nazirah Mat Sin

Addresses: Sunway University, No. 5 Jalan Universiti, Bandar Sunway 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia ' Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Knowledge Management Centre, Multimedia University, 63100 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia ' Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Knowledge Management Centre, Multimedia University, 63100 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia ' Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Knowledge Management Centre, Multimedia University, 63100 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: motivation; self-management; intellectual development; knowledge workers; Malaysia; HEIs; higher education institutions; universities; lecturers; research-teaching fusions; university colleges; lecturer perceptions; lecturer attitudes; behavioural change; cultural change; research capabilities; cultures; careers; commitment; learning; intellectual capital.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLIC.2013.052078

International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, 2013 Vol.10 No.1, pp.88 - 105

Published online: 29 Jan 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article