Purpose: Recent marketing research provides conceptual models to investigate the well-being of collectives, but service system well-being (SSW) remains untested empirically. This research conceptualises and develops a measure for SSW at the micro, meso and macro levels.

Design/methodology/approach: Using a series of studies, a multidimensional SSW scale is developed and validated to ensure its generalisability. After the development of preliminary items, Study 1 (N = 435 of service employees) was used to purify items using factor analyses. Study 2 (N = 592 of service employees) used Structural equation modelling (SEM) with AMOS and SmartPLS to test the scale's dimensionality, reliability, and validity.

Findings: The results confirm the validity and reliability of the nine dimensions of SSW. The measure was validated as a third-order micro-, meso- and macro-level construct. The dimensions of existential and transformative well-being contribute to micro-level well-being. The dimensions of social, community and collaborative well-being contribute to meso-level well-being. Government, leadership, strategic and resource well-being drive macro-level well-being. In addition, a nomological network was specified to assess the impact of SSW on service actor life satisfaction and customer orientation.

Research implications: We contribute to services literature by theorising SSW as a hierarchical structure and empirically validating the dimensions and micro-meso-macro levels that contribute to SSW.

Practical implications: The SSW scale is a useful diagnostic tool for assessing levels of well-being across different systems and providing insights that can develop strategies and programs to improve the well-being of collectives.

Originality/value: The research is the first study to theorise the micro-meso and macro levels of service system well-being and operationally validate the SSW construct.