ABSTRACT:

Chargeback systems are employed to regulate demand of computer resources by providing to users the cost of each user session. Prior literature indicates that four characteristics of chargeback systems contribute to chargeback effectiveness: controllability, understandability, accountability, and feedback. Field studies involving these factors have produced conflicting results. This paper presents the results of a laboratory experiment that was conducted to investigate the influence of accountability and cost feedback on users' information processing behavior. The results indicate that, in the presence of controllability and understandability, cost feedback does not influence user behavior unless the user is explicitly accountable for computer processing costs.