Impact of Perceived Fit on E-Government User Evaluation

Based on information technology adoption theories and considering Chinese cultural characteristics, this article proposes a user centric IT/IS evaluation model composed of three determinants, namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived fit, for investigating the e-government systems application and management in China. By empirically validating the model with survey data, it is demonstrated that the perceived fit has significant impacts on the end users’ evaluation towards e-government systems, due to the special element of Hexie in the Chinese culture. The results also indicate that the reasons for failures in e-government systems application in China largely lie in the lack of fit, which may root in the long power distance characteristic of the Far Eastern culture. The findings will provide scholars and practitioners with better understanding of the user evaluation regarding e-government systems in a Chinese cultural context.