Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has increasingly become a strategic approach through which organisations manage stakeholder relationships and build reputational awareness. The research examined the relationship between CSR and brand reputation in the Nigerian telecommunications industry, with particular attention to stakeholder perception as a moderating variable. The study was anchored on Stakeholder Theory. A mixed method research design was adopted for the empirical study, thereby combining both the quantitative and qualitative method to provide a robust analysis.  The research instruments were structured questionnaire and in-depth interview. The population of the study comprised adult telecommunications subscribers in Nigeria who had sufficient experience with their network provider to evaluate its CSR activities and reputation.  Multistage sampling procedure was adopted to select the participants.  141 respondents participated in the study.   Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation, multiple regression, and moderation procedures. R = 0.744; R² = 0.554; Adjusted R² = 0.538; F(4,114) = 35.334, p < 0.001. The regression model was statistically significant and explained approximately 55.4% of the variation in brand reputation. The findings revealed that corporate social responsibility has a statistically significant positive effect on brand reputation. This relationship was moderated by stakeholder perception, indicating that the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility depends largely on how stakeholders interpret and evaluate corporate actions. Furthermore, transparency and authenticity emerged as the sub-variables that enhance the credibility and impact of corporate social responsibility initiatives. Conversely, inconsistencies between communicated and actual practices lead to reputational vulnerability and stakeholder skepticism. The research also offered practical insights for managers, emphasizing the need for strategic alignment between corporate social responsibility initiatives and organizational values. However, the study concluded that corporate social responsibility, when implemented authentically and communicated transparently, serves as a powerful mechanism for sustaining competitive advantage through enhanced brand reputation.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Brand Reputation, Stakeholder Perception, Transparency, Authenticity, Telecommunications.