Thomas J W Farrington is an Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University's School of Social Sciences. Tom has taught at South East European University in Tetovo and at the University of Edinburgh, where he received his doctorate, and where he was Co-Director of the Scottish Universities’ International Summer School.

Tom also volunteers as Chair of the Board of Trustees of LeithLate, a multi-arts charity (SC049909) responsible for various public art projects, panel talks, and tours in Leith, alongside the annual LeithLate Festival.

Tom's research is mainly focused on identity, practice, and ethics in work and organisation. He is currently researching the working lives of musicians and entrepreneurial learning through start-up funding competitions. He has published work on cultural heritage and tourism, focussing on issues such as authenticity and social responsibility, with expertise in critical, cultural, and literary theory. Tom is currently supervising doctoral research into resistance to change in academia, social class in the legal profession, the transmission of political narrative via social media, and the identity work of Agile practitioners. His work has most recently appeared in the Journal of Marketing Management, the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Tourism Management, and the Journal of the International Council for Small Business.

Tom is part of the Doctoral Research Centre, engaged in UG, Master's, and PhD supervision, and has taught on Management in a Global Context, Business Research Methods, Management Theories in Practice, HRM, and Scottish Studies courses at Heriot-Watt University. He is Head of Research Methods teaching and global course coordinator for Business Research Methods.

Tom is also Co-Chair of the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (with Dr Monica Tamariz), a member of the University's Athena Swan Strategy Committee, Chair of the School of Social Sciences Discipline Committee, a member of the University Discipline Committee, and serving as a HW Senator from August 2020-July 2023.