Purpose The purpose of this paper is to uncover the role of entrepreneurial passion and resources on innovativeness. The research also tested the moderating role of entrepreneurial commitment and environmental unpredictability. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 112 small firm owners/managers was selected from central Ethiopia using two level multi-stage sampling. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. Findings The owners/managers who are passionate and have adequate human and financial capital are involved more on discovering and exploitation of promising business opportunities that lead to innovativeness. The commitment among passionate and resourceful owners/managers raises a fire on the individuals to be more innovative, but the strong entrepreneurial passion and resources faced challenges in the unpredictable environment to change the ambition to actions. Research limitations/implications The future research should also include the financial measures or financial resources and other variables such as entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial background in a cross-country study. Practical implications The policy makers should develop sustainable strategies that encourage passionate firms toward innovativeness. Originality/value The study brings a new insight on the relationship between entrepreneurial passion, entrepreneurial resources, and innovativeness. The study also contributes to entrepreneurship literature by investigating the moderating role of entrepreneurial commitment and environmental unpredictability in relating entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial resource to innovativeness. In addition, by exploring the contribution of entrepreneurial passion and resources toward innovativeness, it helps to bring the discussion forward on the subject matter.