Mariapaola McGurk

McGurk, Mariapaola (PhD)
Dr Mariapaola McGurk holds a DPhill in Digital Transformation from Johannesburg Business School, an Executive MBA (with Merit) from Henley Business School Africa and a BA Honours in Visual Arts (Cum Laude) from the University of Johannesburg. She lectures at Waipapa Taumata Rau – University of Auckland. Her expertise lies in innovation and entrepreneurship, the cultural and creative industries (CCIs), systems thinking, and inclusive digital transformation. Mariapaola has worked extensively with entrepreneurs, providing mentorship, skills development, and business support. She has led and contributed to numerous projects focused on community engagement and empowerment and has participated in a range of national and industry-specific research initiatives, policy reports, and conferences.
Her doctoral thesis, titled A Systems Thinking Approach to the Growth of the Creative Economy of Johannesburg, focused on understanding the decentralised nature of the city's creative economy and identifying realistic, implementable strategies for its growth. The research was grounded in a social constructivist paradigm and employed inductive reasoning through a mixed-methods approach, allowing for the collection of diverse perspectives and data within a systems thinking framework. The qualitative research component included interviews and the development of two in-depth case studies. The quantitative component involved a city-wide survey of CCI practitioners in Johannesburg, using three key metrics: entrepreneurial orientation (EO), the 20-item systems thinking scale (STS), and eight-factor performance measures relevant to the creative economy. In addition, the study included an open-source mapping project that documented all organisations supporting CCI practitioners across Johannesburg. The research highlights Johannesburg’s CCIs as a robust and dynamic sector with a strong entrepreneurial orientation and an existing systems thinking mindset. It positions the industry as a significant, yet under-recognised contributor to local economic development, and advocates for its strategic inclusion in urban policy and planning.
Mariapaola continues to work with a range of organisations to activate and implement strategies that support the sustainable growth of the creative economy in Johannesburg and beyond.