In High Orbit

Independent thinking, innovation orientation, inherent learning platforms, and a family culture are the mark of ISRO’s culture.

- J Ravisankar, Isro

Academic scholars have paid attention to organisational culture as a key research construct and an important area of managerial practice. There are also enough empirical studies that establish the link between organisational culture and performance. The success or failure of an organisation can be attributed, in part, to its culture. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is a case in point.

ISRO was formally established on 15 August, 1969 and it is entering its golden jubilee year in 2019. The seeds of this organisation were sown in 1962 in the form of INCOSPAR under the visionary leadership of Dr Vikram A Sarabhai who is considered to be the father of the Indian space programme. Incidentally, 2019 is also his birth centenary.

From the time they launched a sounding rocket, which was just assembled here, in 1963, it has grown into a successful organisation by developing indigenous space technologies—India is now one of the six space-faring countries in the world. The organisation has faced many hardships in its journey. However, the culture that was nurtured and the practices that were instituted by the early leaders made it an organisation India is proud of. In fact, the leadership and the culture of an organisation are intertwined. The cultural characteristics fostered by the first-generation leaders of ISRO are: