This qualitative study explores the drivers and facets of culture in a rare research setting. Culture is a key driver of innovation and performance of an Research & Development (R&D) organisation and it has been accepted as a critical factor in the organisation for its competitive advantage. While there exists significant research on the emergence of organisational culture from the perspective of cultural transformation, scholars have paid little attention to the emergence of culture from its genesis. Culture formation in an established organisation is, as yet, unexplored in literature. Public-funded organisations suffer from high goal multiplicity, less autonomy, high formalisation and red tapism. The purpose of this study is to explore the culture in a public-funded R&D organisation in the Indian context from the perspective of cultural emergence. Being an exploratory study, the data were generated through in-depth personal interviews from 24 heterogeneous respondents who worked with pioneering leaders of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Grounded theory coding guidelines were adhered to analyse the voluminous qualitative data. The study identified the organisational leadership, values, and design as critical factors in forming the culture. It further identified autonomy, openness, failure tolerance, family orientation, and learning opportunities as critical facets. It also discussed strategies to manoeuvre constraints of a public-funded organisation through organisational cultural mechanisms. The narratives presented under various themes may provide valuable insights for practitioners in the field.
