diff --git a/dspace-api/src/test/data/dspaceFolder/config/local.cfg b/dspace-api/src/test/data/dspaceFolder/config/local.cfg
index 3618d405f7f2..2f3a64218dbf 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/test/data/dspaceFolder/config/local.cfg
+++ b/dspace-api/src/test/data/dspaceFolder/config/local.cfg
@@ -223,4 +223,7 @@ orcid.synchronization-enabled = true
 # These settings ensure "dspace.object.owner" field are indexed by Authority Control
 choices.plugin.dspace.object.owner = EPersonAuthority
 choices.presentation.dspace.object.owner = suggest
-authority.controlled.dspace.object.owner = true
\ No newline at end of file
+authority.controlled.dspace.object.owner = true
+ 
+# force the event system to work synchronously during test
+system-event.thread.size = 0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dspace-services/pom.xml b/dspace-services/pom.xml
index 867ac1dc1a7e..39e2ccf36f38 100644
--- a/dspace-services/pom.xml
+++ b/dspace-services/pom.xml
@@ -154,5 +154,17 @@
             <version>${spring-boot.version}</version>
         </dependency>
 
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>com.google.guava</groupId>
+            <artifactId>guava</artifactId>
+            <exclusions>
+                <!-- Use version provided by Solr / Postgres -->
+                <exclusion>
+                    <groupId>org.checkerframework</groupId>
+                    <artifactId>checker-qual</artifactId>
+                </exclusion>
+            </exclusions>
+        </dependency>
+
     </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/dspace-services/src/main/java/org/dspace/services/events/SystemEventService.java b/dspace-services/src/main/java/org/dspace/services/events/SystemEventService.java
index 5a4f118fcdc3..322b0dc8be20 100644
--- a/dspace-services/src/main/java/org/dspace/services/events/SystemEventService.java
+++ b/dspace-services/src/main/java/org/dspace/services/events/SystemEventService.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
 import javax.annotation.PreDestroy;
 
+import com.google.common.util.concurrent.MoreExecutors;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.ArrayUtils;
 import org.dspace.services.ConfigurationService;
 import org.dspace.services.EventService;
@@ -107,7 +108,11 @@ private void initExecutor() {
         }
         ConfigurationService configurationService = DSpaceServicesFactory.getInstance().getConfigurationService();
         int threadSize = configurationService.getIntProperty("system-event.thread.size", DEFAULT_THREAD_SIZE);
-        this.executorService = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(threadSize);
+        if (threadSize == 0) {
+            this.executorService = MoreExecutors.newDirectExecutorService();
+        } else {
+            this.executorService = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(threadSize);
+        }
     }
 
     /* (non-Javadoc)