Abstract: We investigate the relationship between the univalence of f and of h in the decomposition f = h + (g) over bar of a serise-preserving harmonic mapping defined in the unit disk D subset of C. Among other results, we determine the holomorphic univalent maps It for which there exists c > 0 such that every harmonic mapping of the form f = h + (g) over bar with vertical bar g'vertical bar < c vertical bar h'vertical bar is univalent. The notion of a linearly connected domain appears in our study in a relevant way. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.