**1. Introduction**

For decades, marketing scholars and practitioners have investigated the influence of globalization on consumer behavior across countries, particularly in connection with issues of worldwide marketing standardization–adaptation [1,2]. According to [3], market convergence has encouraged sociologists, psychologists, and marketers to examine the interaction of global and local influences on consumer behavior in the context of globalization. As Ref. [4] defined, global consumer acculturation is the effect of culture on consumer behavior. Therefore, it is vital to research the impact of individual cultural features on consumers' behavior, even if the study concentrates on single cultural characteristics and does not include studies of how the complex total influences purchasing and consumer behavior (p. 785).

Due to advancements in communication technology, information has spread far and wide, giving businesses and goods a global audience. As the Internet has been more widely accepted and used, customers from across the globe have access to more goods and services through safe online purchasing [5]. New transportation technologies have offered customers more accessible access to other countries, where they may immediately interact with foreign goods and advertising. These exposures have impacted customer expectations and product selections across many attributes [6]. E-commerce has grown in popularity because of improved Internet technology. Consumers now have quick access to the product information on the Internet and may use shopping channels to make online purchases [7].

The development of the Internet has established a tight relationship with producers and consumers, locally and internationally. All these participants have become important and conscious contributors to sustainable consumption [8]. Although there is no agreement about the sustainable consumption definition, one of the most accepted, presented in 1994, defines it as "the use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life, while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and

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emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations" [9]. In that sense, the expansion of e-commerce has influenced those changes and emerged along with sustainable development. Therefore, its significance has been considered to have an extraordinary impact on the modern world [10]. Sustainable development establishes the paradigm of economic growth by integrating it with environmental protection criteria [11], considering current and future generations' needs, and acknowledging the connection of its three dimensions: Environmental, Social, and Economic [12].

Evidence suggests that consumers in emerging nations are less ethnocentric [13]. They highly prefer imported goods from developed countries [14]. One significant factor contributing to this occurrence is prestige. Consumers often utilize the Country of Origin (COO) as a quick indicator when deciding whether or not to buy goods and brands made in the target nation [15]. Hence, many studies on the COO's impact on customer behavior have developed in international marketing and business literature [16].

Corporations working based on online retail and e-commerce implement strategies to attract consumers to their brands and product lines, facilitating online shopping and bidirectional communication with their customers. Undoubtedly, corporations should consider, in all senses, the importance of e-commerce sustainability and sustainable regulations when creating offers, processes, and marketing strategies [17].

Previous statements are important due to the fact that e-commerce may assist in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage, which contributes to the long-term stability of the ecological system. According to [18], there is a link between perceived sustainability and customer engagement in e-commerce, and by reducing the number of visits to the store, e-commerce shopping may help to encourage environmentally-friendly lifestyles [19].

Consumer ethnocentrism (CE) has become progressively essential to researchers in consumer behavior and international marketing because it directly influences consumers' attitudes and buying preferences. An example of ethnocentrism is when a person desires to explore their identity and belong to a group/community [20]. Purchasing foreign goods is considered harmful because it is detrimental to the home economy, unpatriotic, and has a damaging influence on domestic jobs [21]. CE has a moral basis that extends beyond economic and functional concerns. Some customers think buying foreign goods is disloyal and immoral since it harms the native economy and destroys employment. Highly ethnocentric customers often make erroneous judgments and overvalue local items relative to imported goods [22] Thus, understanding customer behavior in various settings is critical for international marketing. As markets grow borderless and completely interconnected, it is crucial to determine if customers are concerned about the COO of goods and to what degree countries and cultures favor local goods over international ones.

Even though many researchers have investigated CE in various countries and have concentrated on CE results, little is known regarding the proportional relevance of its effects on the COO and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). What is more, there is a lack of explicitly evaluating consumer behavior through internet purchases during a pandemic in this framework. Nevertheless, there is mounting evidence that COO and CE are significant determinants of product assessments and purchasing choices [23,24]. Consequently, this research emphasized the roles of COO and CE in understanding consumer purchasing behavior. Thus, the current study attempts to expand the TPB model by incorporating key online purchasing variables, such as COO and CE, and improving our capacity to forecast intention and explain online consumers' choices. As a result, this research develops and examines a theoretical framework based on the TPB model to examine the connection between variables and explain online consumer behavior during pandemics.

The present study adds to the body of knowledge in a variety of ways. First, it may fill a knowledge gap in COO and CE research by examining online consumer responses during pandemics. Second, we create an experimentally tested model that explains the links between COO and CE and predicts online local and international brand purchase decisions using the TPB. Finally, we conduct an experimental evaluation of the model using data from a representative sample of a developing country to see if the indicated relationships hold.

Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is now well-established as a method for analyzing complex causal relationships among latent variables [25]. Moreover, this analysis method has been used extensively in many contexts, particularly in international marketing [26]. In this study, this approach is used to validate the theoretical framework.

The remaining document is organized as follows. The subsequent section sets out the conceptual framework and hypothesis. Afterward, measurements and procedures are discussed. Next, the empirical results are examined. Finally, we discuss the implications for theory and practice, highlight limitations, and provide suggestions for further study.

#### **2. Conceptual Framework and Research Model**

#### *2.1. Consumer Ethnocentrism*

Ethnocentrism, or more broadly, in-group prejudice, is a prevalent empirical phenomenon in human cultures. For example, Ref. [27] refers to CE as the beliefs held by consumers about the appropriateness, indeed morality, of purchasing foreign-made products. Highly ethnocentric consumers refuse to buy imported products and may even chastise others for doing so [28]. The impact of ethnocentrism extends not only to businesses or governments but also to the consumer level, on which most of the academic study has concentrated.

CE refers to preferences for home over international goods in marketing research [27]. The idea is helpful in forecasting customer receptivity to foreign brands [3]. For consumers and strategic decision-makers in the global economy, assessing CE levels is critical since doing so may indicate where standardization is feasible and specialized services are required [29] (p. 58). Aspects such as global positioning [30], market entry mode decisions [31], and the materialization of COO effects [32] are also influenced by CE [33]. CE's impact has often been theorized in terms of social identity theory, in which customers are seen as actors motivated to adhere to and align themselves with the standards and values of their in-groups in the hopes that doing so will provide them with a good social image [34].

Despite its many theoretical and practical uses and repeated requests for conceptual revision, the CE construct has remained unchanged since 1987. According to [35], it has been suggested by many scholars that CE must be conceptually reexamined, along with its quantification. The rise in calls is due to empirical data contradicting the original conception of CE as a unidimensional phenomenon [36]. The Consumer Ethnocentrism Tendencies Scale (CETSCALE) is utilized to operationalize the concept, which raises questions regarding the measurement's relevance and generalizability [27]. On the other hand, Ref. [37] indicated that many researchers linked the CETSCALE to social desirability bias, response style bias, and the dimensionality issues raised in previous research.

Shimp and Sharma [27] coined CE as American consumers' views about the propriety, even morality, of purchasing foreign-made goods. According to these authors, from the ethnocentric consumer's viewpoint, buying imported goods is terrible since it harms the home economy, results in job losses, and is unpatriotic. CE was quantified using the CETSCALE, created by these researchers. All the scale's items indicate a preference for USmade goods over foreign-made goods and a rejection of purchasing or importing foreign goods. As a result, it has been utilized successfully throughout the globe (e.g., [38], with acceptable reliability and validity.

Ethnocentrism is a broad concept that encompasses all aspects of ethnicity. Ethnicity is a prehistoric human social identity. For example, Ref. [39] specifies that it is still one of people's most significant social identities, since it fulfills fundamental psychological requirements and has an evolutionary foundation because it is concerned with family groupings and genetic similarities. According to [27], CE derives from Summer's [39] broad notion of ethnocentrism. In other words, CE seems to be a narrow application and adaption of ethnocentrism to the purchase of imported consumer goods. Therefore, CE originated from the broader notion of ethnocentrism [37] (p. 382). However, the two concepts are different, and CE is best understood considering generic ethnocentrism. On the other hand, Ref. [40] suggested that CE may mean many other things, such as beliefs, dispositions, or characteristics. Hence, it is best understood as an attitude and socialpsychological construct. CE may fulfill the requirements of ethnocentrism by strengthening ethnic group strength by purchasing goods from the nation where their ethnic group resides. However, it is probable that CE may not flow directly from ethnocentrism, but that multiple categories mediate the connections.

On the other hand, non-ethnocentric customers compare the quality and performance of international and local goods and select the best one [27]. According to [41]'s research on ethnocentric sentiments in consumer behavior, there is a general dislike of imported goods, making it difficult for them to succeed in foreign marketplaces. In today's more globalized society, cosmopolitan attitudes are believed to decrease ethnocentric sentiments. However, Ref. [27] found that CE promotes patriotism and stresses cultural and ethnic identity, affecting the global economic environment, particularly in times of crisis. Consistent with the study of [42], the desire to help local businesses typically rises during economic crises in many nations.

Subsequent ethnocentrism research has concentrated on the willingness to pay for foreign goods and the intention to buy and attitudes about foreign products [43]. In the same vein, Ref. [44] said that CE is associated with a negative attitude toward foreign goods, and, at the same time, the desire to buy domestically is positively impacted. In the opinion of [45], the explanation for this conclusion is that consumers' cultural values significantly influence consumer behavior. On the other hand, Ref. [46] stated that customers choose imports from nations with similar cultural backgrounds to their own. Thus, CE significantly impacts purchasing habits for domestic and foreign products, with particular attention to market segmentation, communications processes, and methods, defining the correct target markets, and creating a unique selling proposition that can be decoded by consumers nationally. Therefore, we hypothesized:

**Hypothesis 1 (H1).** *High consumer ethnocentrism will produce lower online consumer purchase behavior.*

**Hypothesis 2 (H2).** *Consumer ethnocentrism positively influences country of origin.*
