Real Name Policy : Good or Bad for Online Innovation Community?

Online innovation community can be defined as a digital space where there is active and ongoing communication between like-minded people. The members share innovative ideas with each other, even build and maintain online or offline personal social ties, but need to comply with the community norms. Recently, real name policy was implemented in one country, while it was abolished in another country. The online community environment has been changed. From the literature review, we can find out that identified community users have the sense of interpersonal trust, abide by community norms, and are more willing to participate in the internet-based innovative activities when they perceive this as a channel to gain the feeling of belonging and ownership. However, unidentified users can suggest wild or provocative ideas which may contribute to innovation of the community or society. This study examines pros and cons of the real name policy in the use of the Internet from the perspective of innovation.