Purpose – In industrial buyer–supplier relationships, being an attractive customer has been found to result in superior supplier performance. However, there is a limited understanding of how these benefits transfer to the public domain. This study aims to explore the influence of customer attractiveness on supplier resource mobilization efforts toward the public sector.

Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was used, focusing on in-depth interviews with 23 informants from 3 critical and complex supplier markets. The data were processed using inductive coding and thematic analysis.

Findings – The findings indicate that customer attractiveness in the public sector influences suppliers’ mobilization efforts on several dimensions. In addition to stimulating competition in the tender phase, customer attractiveness can yield important benefits to quality, supply stability and innovation during the business relationship. It appears imperative for the public sector to improve its standings with suppliers to both mitigate the apparent risk of sub-par treatment and to unlock the preferential supplier treatment associated with being an attractive customer.

Social implications – Receiving increased mobilization from suppliers will result in better use of public money and help improve resilience and innovation in public procurement.

Originality/value – This study extends the research on customer attractiveness in the public sector by being the first to explore the range and nature of its influence on supplier mobilization efforts.