1800s: Martineau · Tocqueville · Marx · Spencer · Le Bon · Ward · Pareto · Tönnies · Veblen · Simmel · Durkheim · Addams · Mead · Weber · Du Bois · Mannheim · Elias Traditional authority is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a regime is largely tied to tradition or custom.
He has no administrative staff nor any machinery to enforce his will by force alone; he depends on the willingness of the group members to respect his authority.
They obey him based on the belief that this is their duty sanctioned by immemorial tradition and on feeling of filial piety for the person of the master.
One of the best examples of almost pure type of patrimonialism is ancient Egypt, where the population was entirely dependent upon the control of the waterways (Nile River).
When the royal household required it, the individual had to perform the public duties, such as participate in labor-intensive project (rising of the pyramids).
However, in the Occident the ruler lost control of the lands given to the nobility, which according to Weber was a major reason for patrimonialism being replaced by feudalism.
This could also be the case in a family-owned business if its director and other leadership positions are chosen based on family ties and/or age.