Holly Patrick-Thomson
holly patrick thomson

Dr Holly Patrick-Thomson

Lecturer

Biography

Dr Holly Patrick is a Lecturer in the Human Resource Management Group of Edinburgh Napier University’s Business School. Awarded her PhD in 2013 from the University of St Andrews, Holly’s research focusses on the changing nature and future of work in the creative and craft sectors.

Her research on creative work predominantly focusses on the tensions and precarity experienced by creative workers, particularly freelancers, and the forms of peer support and solidarity this produces. She has published articles on these topics in international journals such as Work Employment and Society, Management Learning, and the Asia Pacific Journal of Arts and Cultural Management. She collaborates with creative businesses, campaign groups and industry bodies in the UK and is Chair of the British Academy of Management Special Interest Group for Creative and Cultural Industries. She is currently working on an interdisciplinary research project with collaborators form the School of Computing, scoping the development of an Artificial Intelligence advisor for creative freelancers, more details on which can be found at https://www.crisiscreatives.online/.

Her work on the changing nature of the craft beer sector and work therein involves collaborations with academics and brewers from across the UK and further afield. Her research on work in craft beer has been published by Routledge and Palgrave. Along with her academic collaborators, she published an edited collection with Emerald: 'Researching Craft Beer', based on the outcomes of an international symposium she co-hosted in Edinburgh in 2019. She is currently working on a paper conceptualising the effects of institutional complexity on the work and identity of craft brewers.

Before joining ENU, Holly was a Visiting Scholar for 2 years at the University of Technology, Sydney. During her time there, Holly’s work was presented at UTS, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and the University of Melbourne, as well as prestigious conferences such as the Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management.

In addition to her personal research agenda, Holly has been involved in several large-scale, externally funded research projects. While at St Andrews, she was part of a 5 person team assigned to deliver a report analysing the future of the European automotive industry for the governing body of the European Economic Community. At UTS, Holly was project manager of a 7 person team awarded the contract to develop the Australian Leadership Capabilities Standard.

Research Areas

Events

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Invited to speak to Scottish Government Roundtable on Cultural Resilience

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Organiser of Virtual Writing Retreat for the British Academy of Management CCI SIG
  • Creative and Cultural Industries Track Chair - British Academy of Management
  • Track Session Chair - BUIRA Conference
  • Organiser - Craft Beer in Theory and Practice Symposium

 

Editorial Activity

  • Special Issue Editor for the Journal of Political Power

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External Examiner - University of Dundee

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Awarded Best Developmental Paper in Cultural and Creative Industries Track at British Academy of Management Conference 2021
  • Nominated for Above and Beyond ENU Award for co-founding Research Clinics
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Authority
  • Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
  • Best Full Paper Award for Identity Track at British Academy of Management Conference 2012

 

Invited Speaker

  • Expert Contributor to CIPD Podcast on Dogs in the Workplace
  • Invited to give guest symposia on worker precarity to Penn State University
  • Invited to sit on panel debating “The Future of Business Schools” at Edinburgh Napier University
  • Invited to sit on a panel discussing PhD publication strategies at UTS (Australia)
  • Invited to present research on cultural precarity at a research showcase at RMIT (Australia)

 

Media Activity

  • Guest Columnist for The Courier
  • Featured in The Scotsman article: Scotland’s craft brewers can use pandemic lessons to manage cost-of-living crisis
  • National Radio Interview
  • Author at The Conversation
  • Interviewed by The Times

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Elected Chair of Special Interest Group for Creative and Cultural Industries - British Academy of Management
  • Member of the British Academy of Management
  • President of EIS-ULA
  • Member of British Sociological Association
  • Elected Member of EIS-ULA National Committee

 

Non-executive Directorship

  • Member of University Court

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • Invited to Advise on Freelance Survey Development by Creative Edinburgh
  • invited to advise on Excluded UK survey development
  • The Great Scottish Craft Beer Hunt
  • Lead Organiser of CBREW - Craft Beer Research and Enterprise Symposium

 

Reviewing

  • Reviewer for Personnel Review
  • Reviewer for British Academy of Management Conference
  • Reviewer for Management Learning (Journal)
  • Reviewer for Bristol University Press
  • Reviewer for Cultural Trends (Journal)
  • Reviewer for Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference

 

Visiting Positions

  • Visiting Scholar at the University of Technology, Sydney
  • Affiliated Researcher at the Institute for Capitalising on Creativity, University of St Andrews

 

Date


28 results

Creative Informatics: how data driven innovation has transformed the creative workplace

Presentation / Conference
Paneels, I., & Patrick-Thomson, H. (2024, September)
Creative Informatics: how data driven innovation has transformed the creative workplace. Paper presented at Transdisciplinary Workplace Research Conference
The creative economy is a workforce with a high proportion of freelancers and SMEs. This paper reflects on new ways of working, accelerated by the digital pivot of the creativ...

New Horizons in Peer Advice Systems: Developing the Freelance Advisor

Presentation / Conference
Patrick-Thomson, H., Lawson, A., & Lapok, P. (2024, April)
New Horizons in Peer Advice Systems: Developing the Freelance Advisor. Paper presented at Digital Business and Society Consortium, Royal Holloway, University of London
Work in the creative and cultural industries is often seen as “good” because it offers people a chance to earn money while engaged in their passion (McRobbie, 2018), to have a...

The effects of visibility on solidarity: Post-pandemic online organising for the good (work) life amongst creative freelancers

Presentation / Conference
Patrick-Thomson, H. (2023, September)
The effects of visibility on solidarity: Post-pandemic online organising for the good (work) life amongst creative freelancers. Paper presented at British Academy of Management 2023 Conference, Brighton
Many creatives freelance in pursuit of the good life: but their independence comes at the price of job security. This paper explores how creative freelancers organised via Fa...

Connecting, Collaborating, Creating: The Experiences of Creative Freelancers in Edinburgh in 2022

Report
Connell, L., Orme, A., Osbourne, N., Paneels, I., Patrick-Thomson, H., Terras, M., & Wojtkiewicz, O. (2022)
Connecting, Collaborating, Creating: The Experiences of Creative Freelancers in Edinburgh in 2022. Edinburgh: Creative Edinburgh
This report provides a snapshot of the state and needs of creative freelancers in the Edinburgh region in 2022. The last few years have been both interesting and challenging ...

Can The Bad Dogs Of Brewing Be Tamed - The Courier Opinion

Other
Clarke, D., & Patrick, H. (2022)
Can The Bad Dogs Of Brewing Be Tamed - The Courier Opinion. [https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/opinion/3009027/can-brewdog-be-tamed/]
An opinion piece on the future of Brewdog following continued controversy surrounding employment practices and working culture at the brewer.

Instagram Vs Reality: Chatting Craft Beer Communities with Roy Herd of The Blunt Chisel Brewery

Book Chapter
Patrick, H. (2021)
Instagram Vs Reality: Chatting Craft Beer Communities with Roy Herd of The Blunt Chisel Brewery. In D. Clarke, V. Ellis, H. Patrick-Thomson, & D. Weir (Eds.), Researching Craft Beer: Understanding Production, Community and Culture in an Evolving Sector. Bingley: Emerald

Behind the beer: An examination of ‘entrepreneurial’ motives for starting a craft brewery

Book Chapter
Ellis, V., & Richards, J. (2021)
Behind the beer: An examination of ‘entrepreneurial’ motives for starting a craft brewery. In D. Clarke, V. Ellis, H. Patrick-Thomson, & D. Weir (Eds.), Researching Craft Beer: Understanding Production, Community and Culture in an Evolving Sector. Bingley: Emerald
Brewing has experienced a considerable revival in recent years with the number of brewers in the UK being at its highest level since the 1930s (Cask Report, 2018). After decad...

How Creative Freelancers Organised using Online Occupational Communities in the Wake of COVID-19

Presentation / Conference
Patrick, H. (2021, August)
How Creative Freelancers Organised using Online Occupational Communities in the Wake of COVID-19. Paper presented at British Academy of Management Conference 2021, Online

Netnographic analysis of creative freelance communities

Presentation / Conference
Patrick, H. (2021, August)
Netnographic analysis of creative freelance communities. Paper presented at Work, Employment and Society Conference 2021, Online

Online Organising of Creative Communities

Presentation / Conference
Patrick, H. (2021, July)
Online Organising of Creative Communities. Paper presented at British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference 2021, Online

Pre-Napier Funded Projects

  • Contract Research funded by Australian Government - $149,600
  • UTS Business Research Grants - $20,000

Current Post Grad projects

Previous Post Grad projects