Although there are numerous studies of university technology transfer, there have been relatively few recent studies of technology transfer at federal labs. Studies of university technology transfer have also focused on faculty, not post-doctoral scientists and have ignored identity and sense-making theories in organizational behavior, which are relevant in the context of technology transfer. We fill these gaps by analyzing differences between university scientists and federal lab scientists, in terms of how they engage in technology transfer. Based on extensive interviews of postdoctoral scientists and their supervisors/principal investigators (PIs) at two major research universities and four large federal labs, we find that federal lab scientists are more influenced by mission-driven research and their sense of public service. These motivational differences may constitute significant barriers to technology transfer. Thus, federal lab scientists experience more cognitive dissonance in pursuing commercialization of their research and have more sophisticated resolution strategies than their university counterparts. Principal investigators at federal labs are also not highly incentivized to engage in technology transfer.